As reported by Marketwatch, inflation in Malaysia hit 7.7% annualized. The most recent US inflation rate is about 5% annualized, although many say the Consumer Price Index in the US understates inflation.
If inflation rises to the point where ordinary folks can't afford food, starvation and political instability will result. Countries' central banks can increase prevailing interest rates to fight inflation, but that also slows economic growth by making it more expensive to borrow money to invest in businesses.
As an extreme example, Zimbabwe's is experiencing runaway inflation at tens of thousand of percentage points, mainly thanks to Robert Mugabe's incompetence.
Showing posts with label Global South. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Global South. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Monday, July 07, 2008
Lula da Silva vs Hugo Chavez
Quietly and humbly, Lula da Silva of Brazil is eclipsing Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. An International Herald Tribune article has the story.
The US may well have interfered in Venezuela's internal affairs, but Chavez is still a dangerous man and a poor national leader. Da Silva has the makings of a great one.
Despite all of Brazil's accomplishments in surging ahead of Venezuela in Latin America, Da Silva has eschewed being labeled a leader in the region. "We are not trying to find a leader in Latin America," he said in the September interview. "We don't need a leader. I am not worried about being the leader of anything. What I want is to govern my country well."
The US may well have interfered in Venezuela's internal affairs, but Chavez is still a dangerous man and a poor national leader. Da Silva has the makings of a great one.
President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil clasped hands here at a summit meeting late last month, as employees of Venezuela's state oil company raised their fists and shouted Cuban-inspired socialist slogans before the cameras.
It was an image of solidarity that might once have alarmed Washington, which has seen the United States' standing steadily eroded by a shift toward left-leaning, populist leaders across the region in the last decade.
But the carefully orchestrated event disguised a more recent turn in Latin America that presents new opportunities for the United States: Da Silva has steadily peeled himself away from Venezuela's leader and quietly supplanted him as he nurtures Brazil into a regional powerhouse.
Today the two leaders, often partners but sometimes rivals, offer starkly different paths toward development, and it is Brazil's milder and more pragmatic approach that appears ascendant. Amid the decline of American influence in the region, the Brazilian president is discreetly outflanking Chávez at almost every turn in the struggle for leadership in South America.
Chávez has been nationalizing foreign companies and trying to assemble an anti-American bloc of nations. His regional credentials suffered last week, though, when his ideological rival, President Álvaro Uribe of Colombia, organized a dramatic rescue of 15 hostages held in the jungle by Colombian rebels.
Da Silva has diversified Brazil's already strong industrial base and created an ample political coalition with almost a dozen neighbors. Huge recent oil discoveries in Brazilian waters have allowed him to blunt Venezuela's efforts to use its oil largess to win influence. Venezuela's economy has shown signs of stumbling, while its dependence on trade with Brazil has intensified.
The key to Brazil's success has been a lucky confluence of global economic trends, like rising demand for commodities like soybeans and sugar-based ethanol, but also the quiet stewardship of Da Silva, a former auto plant worker. He has raised Brazil's profile across the region in part by adopting a less confrontational approach to Chávez than that of the United States.
Instead of publicly squaring off with Chávez, even when he has threatened Brazilian interests, Da Silva taps into the kinship of the left and lavishes praise on him. Da Silva went so far as to describe Chávez recently in the German magazine Der Spiegel as Venezuela's "best president in a century."
"The pragmatic side of Lula, the union leader who was always a negotiator, has paid off," said Kenneth Maxwell, a historian at Harvard University and a columnist for the Brazilian newspaper Folha de São Paulo.
"While Chávez grabs the headlines, the debate over whether Brazil is becoming a regional power is moot," he said. "Brazil has actually made it to that level, but in a very nonbombastic way."
While high oil prices have bolstered the theatricality of Chávez's maverick policies, Venezuela's most pervasive influence remains limited to a handful of the region's poorest nations — Bolivia, Cuba, Dominica and Nicaragua — members of ALBA, a trade alliance championed by Chávez. Another Chávez ally, Ecuador, is not a member. Meanwhile, Da Silva's unexpected embrace of the market-friendly ideas begun by his predecessor, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, has emphasized how heterogeneous political thinking has become in Latin America, even on the left.
Publicly, the Brazilian president has been quick to defend Chávez, even as privately he has sought to temper the Venezuelan president's sometimes inflammatory remarks.
In an interview in September, Da Silva said that the rhetoric "worked with the reality of Venezuelan politics" and that Chávez's anti-Americanism was rooted in the Venezuelan leader's unshakable belief that the Bush administration was behind a 2002 coup attempt. "He has his reasons," Da Silva said.
But while Chávez turned harder to the left after his brief ouster in 2002, Da Silva shifted to the center once in power, surprising many skeptics. His lighter touch has greased the way for Brazil in countries as varied as Cuba, the Socialist bastion to which Venezuela provides a lifeline of subsidized oil, and Colombia, a top United States military ally whose relations with Venezuela have been frosty in recent months.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
US Farm Bill: the only good thing was the food stamps
The US Congress recently passed a farm bill. The only good thing in that bill was the increase in funding for food stamps, which aid Americans unable to afford food. It's an important safety net. Economists generally consider direct subsidies to purchasers to be effective.
However, the farm bill is also laden with subsidies for agribusiness, and tons of other forms of pandering.
As you know, agricultural subsidies by the US and Europe prevent farmers in the Global South from competing on even terms. It helps to keep them in a cycle of poverty.
There was a similar situation at the Temple in Jerusalem, with the money changers. Jesus was so furious that He performed the only act of physical violence He ever performed in his ministry.
President Bush has threatened to veto the bill, mainly over its high cost. However, the Congress is likely to override him. Congress is scamming the American people, as well as the poor farmers in the South. I'm not advocating that Americans take whips to their Congresspeople. But if we go by Jesus' actions, I don't think He will judge the American Congress very kindly.
However, the farm bill is also laden with subsidies for agribusiness, and tons of other forms of pandering.
As you know, agricultural subsidies by the US and Europe prevent farmers in the Global South from competing on even terms. It helps to keep them in a cycle of poverty.
There was a similar situation at the Temple in Jerusalem, with the money changers. Jesus was so furious that He performed the only act of physical violence He ever performed in his ministry.
President Bush has threatened to veto the bill, mainly over its high cost. However, the Congress is likely to override him. Congress is scamming the American people, as well as the poor farmers in the South. I'm not advocating that Americans take whips to their Congresspeople. But if we go by Jesus' actions, I don't think He will judge the American Congress very kindly.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
God willing, a tipping point for Burma
From Channel 4 News, UK
Last Modified: 25 Sep 2007
By: Nick Paton Walsh, Jonathan Rugman
Burma's military junta imposes a curfew in the country's main cities amid warnings that a severe repression could follow.
A dawn to dusk curfew has been imposed in Burma's main city, Rangoon, as well as in the second city of Mandalay.
It follows another day of defiant protests by thousands of people on the streets of Rangoon.
The military junta has poured hundreds of troops and armed riot police into the city centre, warning they will take action if the protests continue.
President Bush urged the Burmese people to reclaim their freedom, telling the UN general assembly that Americans were outraged and would tighten economic sanctions against the regime.
Britain has joined the international outcry against any attempt by Burma to impose a military crackdown. Foreign Secretary David Miliband said it was right to give "political backing" to Burma's opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, and encourage the country "in the right direction".
But a stark warning came from the UN's human rights investigator for Burma, who said he feared a "very severe repression" and urged leading powers to intervene.
Last Modified: 25 Sep 2007
By: Nick Paton Walsh, Jonathan Rugman
Burma's military junta imposes a curfew in the country's main cities amid warnings that a severe repression could follow.
A dawn to dusk curfew has been imposed in Burma's main city, Rangoon, as well as in the second city of Mandalay.
It follows another day of defiant protests by thousands of people on the streets of Rangoon.
The military junta has poured hundreds of troops and armed riot police into the city centre, warning they will take action if the protests continue.
President Bush urged the Burmese people to reclaim their freedom, telling the UN general assembly that Americans were outraged and would tighten economic sanctions against the regime.
Britain has joined the international outcry against any attempt by Burma to impose a military crackdown. Foreign Secretary David Miliband said it was right to give "political backing" to Burma's opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, and encourage the country "in the right direction".
But a stark warning came from the UN's human rights investigator for Burma, who said he feared a "very severe repression" and urged leading powers to intervene.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane to retire
From iAfrica. Archbishop Ndungane is the Primate (Anglican-speak for most senior bishop) of South Africa. He has, like his predecessor Desmond Tutu, been a voice for moderation in the Anglican church's current dispute, unique voice among Global South Primates (although there are other outspoken moderates and liberals among GS bishops, priests, and laity). His theology, and that of his predecessor, is shaped by the experience of persecution in apartheid South Africa.
Anglican Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane will retire in January 2008, he confirmed in a statement on Wednesday.
Ndungane, who succeeded Archbishop Desmond Tutu as Archbishop of Cape Town in 1996, said he would step down on January 31, 2008.
"It has been a great privilege and distinctive joy to head this great church," said Ndungane.
An elective assembly to choose a successor would take place in September next year. Ndungane said he would preside over the synod of bishops and provincial standing committee meetings which preceded the assembly.
He would go on sabbatical thereafter until his official retirement date, he said.
After retirement, Ndungane plans to continue his involvement in African development and in an initiative to restore historic church schools.
Anglican Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane will retire in January 2008, he confirmed in a statement on Wednesday.
Ndungane, who succeeded Archbishop Desmond Tutu as Archbishop of Cape Town in 1996, said he would step down on January 31, 2008.
"It has been a great privilege and distinctive joy to head this great church," said Ndungane.
An elective assembly to choose a successor would take place in September next year. Ndungane said he would preside over the synod of bishops and provincial standing committee meetings which preceded the assembly.
He would go on sabbatical thereafter until his official retirement date, he said.
After retirement, Ndungane plans to continue his involvement in African development and in an initiative to restore historic church schools.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Abortion in Malaysia
From The Star, a Malaysian newspaper. Malaysia is a Muslim country. Note the difference between their definition of abortion and the way the Roman Catholic Church might do so - Malaysia forbids any abortions after the third trimester. I believe that Islam has no opinion on abortion before the quickening, or the fetus' first movement. Singapore allows abortion on demand before 24 weeks, or any time the life of the mother is threatened.
Thursday, April 17, 2003
The process of elimination
By LI EE KEE
ABORTION is defined as the expulsion of the conceptus – the product of conception at any point between fertilisation and birth – before the 24th week or the loss of a foetus weighing 500gm or less.
While abortion is traditionally seen as being induced, it can also be spontaneous. When a mother suffers a miscarriage, her situation is medically termed as an abortion but when dealing with patients, obstetricians and gynaecologists refer to it as a miscarriage.
Malaysia’s Abortion Act 1967 makes abortion or termination of pregnancy illegal. However, there are circumstances in which it is permissible. According to Pantai Medical Centre consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist (OBGYN) Dr Nor Ashikin Mokhtar, a pregnancy may be terminated if two registered medical practitioners are of the opinion, formed in good faith, that continuation of pregnancy will endanger the mother’s life.
“For instance, if she has breast cancer, cancer of the womb or renal failure. The mother’s safety and well-being is always priority because we have to take into consideration her family and existing children whom she has to care for. If the pregnancy were to continue, it would deprive them of a mother,” she says.
Termination of pregnancy is also advised to prevent grave permanent injury to the physical and mental health of the mother.
“Victims of rape or incest who become impregnated as a result are permitted to abort their child as long as there is a mental assessment from a psychiatrist that shows if the girl were to continue with her pregnancy, it would affect her psychologically, maybe causing her to lose her mind.
“Also, if the foetus is diagnosed with gross physical or mental abnormalities, like severe anencephaly where the baby is without a brain or skull, or part of it is missing, an abortion is advised. Because when the baby is born, it may only live for a few hours,” she adds.
Various techniques are employed in an abortion procedure, all of which depends on the stage of gestation. They can be grouped as either medical or surgical termination.
Medical termination is for pregnancies less than nine weeks old. This can be done with a Mifepristone tablet (a hormone tablet that blocks production of progesterone produced by the mother’s body to maintain early pregnancy). It causes bleeding, pain and expulsion of the conceptus within 24 to 48 hours. The tablet is not available in Malaysia.
“With oral medication, the abortion can be incomplete and has to be supplemented with a surgical technique like curettage. Again depending on the period of gestation, if it was between five to six weeks, it may come out with the menses. Between eight to nine weeks, the abortion may be incomplete and a surgical termination like D&C (dilatation and curettage) is needed.”
Under surgical termination, pregnancies less than 12 weeks old can be aborted via a suction curettage or D&C.
Beyond 12 weeks, the procedure for termination of pregnancy is more complex, where it’s almost like an induction of labour. All surgical termination procedures are done under general anaesthesia because the patient is relaxed, making the cervix easier to dilate.
Only doctors who have undergone obstetrics and gynaecology training/posting and have been taught or have performed these procedures, as part of their training supervised by the consultant OBGYN is capable of performing an abortion surgery safely.
Although abortion appears to be a minor operation – if done correctly, it takes only 10 to 15 minutes – Dr Nor Ashikin says that complications can and do occur anytime, anywhere.
“A life is at stake, particularly if you are talking about teenagers. It might affect them and their future pregnancies. The worse case scenario is death because if it is a forceful rather than gradual dilatation of the cervix, the girl can go into shock. Bear in mind that the cervix for those who have not delivered before is the size of a pinhole and you are trying to dilate it to about six to seven millimetres in diameter. If it is forceful dilatation or performed by someone untrained, it can tear the cervix where the immediate effect of which is haemorrhage. Uncontrolled and if the clinic is not properly equipped with blood supply for instance, the girl can die.”
Dr Nor Ashikin adds that in the long term, the muscles of the cervix will become weak or damaged.
“She must be prepared for the reality that she might not be able to conceive when she wants to because when there is tear or perforation resulting in continuous bleeding or severe infection, sometimes the uterus has to be removed. Should she get pregnant, she’ll find that she is likely to have recurrent spontaneous miscarriages or go into pre-term labour.”
An incomplete abortion without supplementation can lead to prolong bleeding, causing infection and damage to the ovaries, fallopian tubes, uterus and eventually resulting in infertility.
Uterine perforation can also take place because the uterus is usually anteverted (tilted forward) and instruments like the curette are stiff. As it is inserted, it might perforate the cervix or the wall of the uterus, which can result in a haemorrhage; perforate the bladder, which can cause urine leakage; or puncture any of the intestines, as they are located behind the uterus.
Between a D&C and suction curettage, the latter is safer because it uses a plastic tube, which is softer and thus able to follow the curve of the uterus. The degree of complication also depends on period of gestation with complications less likely to occur if the pregnancy is still in its early stages. And an abortion conducted legally in a hospital will have a smaller percentage of complications.
“These are the risks girls have to know they are taking and whether it’s worth taking them. Many think it’s an easy way out, as contraception. But I don’t think they actually realise what they are in for. They are desperate people who try to solve the problem with desperate measures,” says Dr Nor Ashikin.
“Youth must be more responsible, in the sense if they feel they are sexually active, they should understand the consequences and be prepared to take the risk, although I don’t think that is the right attitude. Abortion is not the answer and this is where sex education is important for teenagers.
“It’s hard making these comments but as a parent, I feel that moral and religious guidance are very important to guide our teenagers because of exposure to the media and Westernisation.
“Any girl who finds herself pregnant, should first go to her parents and discuss it with them. I know as teens, they’re at that rebellious stage where they think their parents are their worst enemy. But your parents are your best friends who always have your best interest at heart. If not, talk to counsellors who can understand and help you,” she advises.
Thursday, April 17, 2003
The process of elimination
By LI EE KEE
ABORTION is defined as the expulsion of the conceptus – the product of conception at any point between fertilisation and birth – before the 24th week or the loss of a foetus weighing 500gm or less.
While abortion is traditionally seen as being induced, it can also be spontaneous. When a mother suffers a miscarriage, her situation is medically termed as an abortion but when dealing with patients, obstetricians and gynaecologists refer to it as a miscarriage.
Malaysia’s Abortion Act 1967 makes abortion or termination of pregnancy illegal. However, there are circumstances in which it is permissible. According to Pantai Medical Centre consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist (OBGYN) Dr Nor Ashikin Mokhtar, a pregnancy may be terminated if two registered medical practitioners are of the opinion, formed in good faith, that continuation of pregnancy will endanger the mother’s life.
“For instance, if she has breast cancer, cancer of the womb or renal failure. The mother’s safety and well-being is always priority because we have to take into consideration her family and existing children whom she has to care for. If the pregnancy were to continue, it would deprive them of a mother,” she says.
Termination of pregnancy is also advised to prevent grave permanent injury to the physical and mental health of the mother.
“Victims of rape or incest who become impregnated as a result are permitted to abort their child as long as there is a mental assessment from a psychiatrist that shows if the girl were to continue with her pregnancy, it would affect her psychologically, maybe causing her to lose her mind.
“Also, if the foetus is diagnosed with gross physical or mental abnormalities, like severe anencephaly where the baby is without a brain or skull, or part of it is missing, an abortion is advised. Because when the baby is born, it may only live for a few hours,” she adds.
Various techniques are employed in an abortion procedure, all of which depends on the stage of gestation. They can be grouped as either medical or surgical termination.
Medical termination is for pregnancies less than nine weeks old. This can be done with a Mifepristone tablet (a hormone tablet that blocks production of progesterone produced by the mother’s body to maintain early pregnancy). It causes bleeding, pain and expulsion of the conceptus within 24 to 48 hours. The tablet is not available in Malaysia.
“With oral medication, the abortion can be incomplete and has to be supplemented with a surgical technique like curettage. Again depending on the period of gestation, if it was between five to six weeks, it may come out with the menses. Between eight to nine weeks, the abortion may be incomplete and a surgical termination like D&C (dilatation and curettage) is needed.”
Under surgical termination, pregnancies less than 12 weeks old can be aborted via a suction curettage or D&C.
Beyond 12 weeks, the procedure for termination of pregnancy is more complex, where it’s almost like an induction of labour. All surgical termination procedures are done under general anaesthesia because the patient is relaxed, making the cervix easier to dilate.
Only doctors who have undergone obstetrics and gynaecology training/posting and have been taught or have performed these procedures, as part of their training supervised by the consultant OBGYN is capable of performing an abortion surgery safely.
Although abortion appears to be a minor operation – if done correctly, it takes only 10 to 15 minutes – Dr Nor Ashikin says that complications can and do occur anytime, anywhere.
“A life is at stake, particularly if you are talking about teenagers. It might affect them and their future pregnancies. The worse case scenario is death because if it is a forceful rather than gradual dilatation of the cervix, the girl can go into shock. Bear in mind that the cervix for those who have not delivered before is the size of a pinhole and you are trying to dilate it to about six to seven millimetres in diameter. If it is forceful dilatation or performed by someone untrained, it can tear the cervix where the immediate effect of which is haemorrhage. Uncontrolled and if the clinic is not properly equipped with blood supply for instance, the girl can die.”
Dr Nor Ashikin adds that in the long term, the muscles of the cervix will become weak or damaged.
“She must be prepared for the reality that she might not be able to conceive when she wants to because when there is tear or perforation resulting in continuous bleeding or severe infection, sometimes the uterus has to be removed. Should she get pregnant, she’ll find that she is likely to have recurrent spontaneous miscarriages or go into pre-term labour.”
An incomplete abortion without supplementation can lead to prolong bleeding, causing infection and damage to the ovaries, fallopian tubes, uterus and eventually resulting in infertility.
Uterine perforation can also take place because the uterus is usually anteverted (tilted forward) and instruments like the curette are stiff. As it is inserted, it might perforate the cervix or the wall of the uterus, which can result in a haemorrhage; perforate the bladder, which can cause urine leakage; or puncture any of the intestines, as they are located behind the uterus.
Between a D&C and suction curettage, the latter is safer because it uses a plastic tube, which is softer and thus able to follow the curve of the uterus. The degree of complication also depends on period of gestation with complications less likely to occur if the pregnancy is still in its early stages. And an abortion conducted legally in a hospital will have a smaller percentage of complications.
“These are the risks girls have to know they are taking and whether it’s worth taking them. Many think it’s an easy way out, as contraception. But I don’t think they actually realise what they are in for. They are desperate people who try to solve the problem with desperate measures,” says Dr Nor Ashikin.
“Youth must be more responsible, in the sense if they feel they are sexually active, they should understand the consequences and be prepared to take the risk, although I don’t think that is the right attitude. Abortion is not the answer and this is where sex education is important for teenagers.
“It’s hard making these comments but as a parent, I feel that moral and religious guidance are very important to guide our teenagers because of exposure to the media and Westernisation.
“Any girl who finds herself pregnant, should first go to her parents and discuss it with them. I know as teens, they’re at that rebellious stage where they think their parents are their worst enemy. But your parents are your best friends who always have your best interest at heart. If not, talk to counsellors who can understand and help you,” she advises.
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Starbucks to source coffee from China
From Reuters
SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Starbucks Corp (SBUX.O: Quote, Profile, Research), the world's biggest coffee-shop chain, said it planned to source coffee from China for the first time as it expands in a country with more than 5,000 years of tea-drinking culture.
Starbucks has been working with coffee farmers in China's southwestern Yunnan province to help them meet sourcing standards and has sent coffee shipments to the United States for testing, Starbucks China President Wang Jinlong said at the Reuters China Century Summit on Tuesday.
"China does produce some quality coffee," Wang said at the summit, held at the Reuters office in Shanghai.
He added that sourcing coffee from China would start "very soon, maybe in a couple of years".
Some analysts say import tariffs as high as 20 to 60 percent are the reason why companies such as Starbucks are considering sourcing coffee from China.
However, Starbucks' Shanghai-based spokeswoman, Caren Li, said the aim was to add new flavors, not to avoid tariffs.
Although coffee consumption is still less than one-tenth of tea consumption in China, it is becoming increasingly popular among Chinese, especially young people, because of its association with a Western lifestyle.
Coffee consumption in China is increasing 20 to 25 percent each year, and Starbucks' sales in the country are growing faster than that, Wang said.
That compares with Starbucks' sales growth target of 18 percent globally.
"China's growing middle class wants to enjoy life," Wang said. "We don't want to replace tea, we just want to add another choice, a new lifestyle."
[The article continues on the Reuters page, but I judged the rest of it to not be very interesting. What is interesting to me is that young people in China, and elsewhere, want to mimick Western lifestyles and consumption patterns. This will create cultural distance with older generations in China; it has already happened in Singapore, for example.
To be "Westernized" is viewed both positively and negatively. I was frequently accused in school of being too "Westernized," particularly since I spoke with a more Western accent (I sounded a bit British then, but I sound pretty American now.]
SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Starbucks Corp (SBUX.O: Quote, Profile, Research), the world's biggest coffee-shop chain, said it planned to source coffee from China for the first time as it expands in a country with more than 5,000 years of tea-drinking culture.
Starbucks has been working with coffee farmers in China's southwestern Yunnan province to help them meet sourcing standards and has sent coffee shipments to the United States for testing, Starbucks China President Wang Jinlong said at the Reuters China Century Summit on Tuesday.
"China does produce some quality coffee," Wang said at the summit, held at the Reuters office in Shanghai.
He added that sourcing coffee from China would start "very soon, maybe in a couple of years".
Some analysts say import tariffs as high as 20 to 60 percent are the reason why companies such as Starbucks are considering sourcing coffee from China.
However, Starbucks' Shanghai-based spokeswoman, Caren Li, said the aim was to add new flavors, not to avoid tariffs.
Although coffee consumption is still less than one-tenth of tea consumption in China, it is becoming increasingly popular among Chinese, especially young people, because of its association with a Western lifestyle.
Coffee consumption in China is increasing 20 to 25 percent each year, and Starbucks' sales in the country are growing faster than that, Wang said.
That compares with Starbucks' sales growth target of 18 percent globally.
"China's growing middle class wants to enjoy life," Wang said. "We don't want to replace tea, we just want to add another choice, a new lifestyle."
[The article continues on the Reuters page, but I judged the rest of it to not be very interesting. What is interesting to me is that young people in China, and elsewhere, want to mimick Western lifestyles and consumption patterns. This will create cultural distance with older generations in China; it has already happened in Singapore, for example.
To be "Westernized" is viewed both positively and negatively. I was frequently accused in school of being too "Westernized," particularly since I spoke with a more Western accent (I sounded a bit British then, but I sound pretty American now.]
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Archbishop Sentamu on Mugabe and some other stuff
John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York in the UK and a native of Uganda, was interviewed on ABC Radio, Australia, and had some things to say about Robert Mugabe, and the Roman and Anglican Archbishops in Zimbabwe.
Friends, please pray for Mugabe's ouster, and for those who take his side to also be held accountable.
In regards to the present difficulties in the Anglican Communion, Sentamu also said that all parties should continue to be in conversation. Those, like Nigeria and some other African churches, who wish to not attend the upcoming Lambeth Conference would be excluding themselves from the Communion.
Sentamu had said elsewhere that he did not consider issues of sexuality to be core Christian doctrine. His personal beliefs lie more on the conservative end of the spectrum. But it is clear that for him, genocide is clearly far worse than homosexuality; in Akinola's case, it isn't clear that he thinks genocide is worse.
Stephen Crittenden: I'm thinking, talking about Amin, leads me to the question of Zimbabwe at present, and Robert Mugabe. I wonder how you think the churches in Zimbabwe are coping with the political situation they face. Are they getting the assistance that they need from their fellow churches in Africa and elsewhere?
John Sentamu: I think the Archbishop of Bulawayo, who is Roman Catholic, has been actually fairly courageous in the things he's been saying, but I'm afraid the Anglican Bishop of Harare has tended to side more with Mugabe and therefore caused the split within the Christian community, not speaking with one voice. It's really got to be resolved, but there is a cost, always, when people take these kind of prophetic utterances. It isn't easy when people speak out, but I think it's got to be resolved. And I happen to think for myself that South Africa could have played a major part in making sure that Mugabe over the last four years at least, does not continue telling the world that actually there isn't any violence, there isn't any hunger, there isn't any starvation, because a lot of Zimbabweans are now refugees in South Africa, and it's quite obvious that Mugabe's regime is so brutal, that it is so dictatorial, and a lot of people are dying and starving. And we're doing all we can to try and support the churches but you can only do it indirectly, because when you're in England, immediately he thinks that anybody who speaks out is simply a lackey really for the British government.
Friends, please pray for Mugabe's ouster, and for those who take his side to also be held accountable.
In regards to the present difficulties in the Anglican Communion, Sentamu also said that all parties should continue to be in conversation. Those, like Nigeria and some other African churches, who wish to not attend the upcoming Lambeth Conference would be excluding themselves from the Communion.
Stephen Crittenden: On another issue, Archbishop Sentamu, where do you stand in this seemingly endless debate about gay clergy and gay bishops that's breaking the Anglican communion apart?
John Sentamu: I think, for myself, that the 1998 resolution was very clear on where the church stood, and it actually invited everybody to engage in the listening process to gay and lesbian people. I still think it was not a good thing for the Episcopal church, while we are still in conversation, to proceed the consecration of Jim Robinson. I happen to think they actually pre-empted the conversation and the discussion. Now what I don't think should happen now [is] that the whole question of gay and lesbian people -- when we said we should listen to their experiences -- should now become the kind of dominant theological factor for the whole of the communion. Because really the communion, at the heart of it, has got to do a number of things. While on one hand upholding Christian teaching, [it] must also be very loving and kind towards gay and lesbian people because that's part of the resolution. And it must also continue to listen. And I'm not so sure, when some people speak as if the debate has been concluded, or we cannot engage with this, you're being very faithful to the resolution.
Secondly, the Windsor Report has made it very clear that the four instruments of unity -- that is, Canterbury, the Lambeth Conference, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Primates Meeting -- should be the kind of instrument that actually allows all of us to talk. So those who now say, for example, that they don't want to come to the Lambeth Conference in 2008 because there may be people from ECUSA , well all I want to say is that church history has always taught us that churches have always disagreed. I mean, over the nature of Christ, the salvation of Christ, there were bitter, bitter, bitter disagreements in the early church, but everybody turned up at those ecumenical councils to resolve their differences. So my view would be, if you're finding this quite difficult, please do not stop the dialogue and the conversation.
Sentamu had said elsewhere that he did not consider issues of sexuality to be core Christian doctrine. His personal beliefs lie more on the conservative end of the spectrum. But it is clear that for him, genocide is clearly far worse than homosexuality; in Akinola's case, it isn't clear that he thinks genocide is worse.
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Akinola: Nigerian Anglicans will not succumb to pressure from the West re homosexual priests
Some excerpts from this interview of Archbishop Peter Akinola.
As you probably know, the Lambeth Conference is the gathering of Anglican Bishops, once in 10 years. Essentially, it is not a parliament; it is not a legislative body, it doesn't have any constitutional power, it does not have power to take decision for anybody. But they come together to pray together, think together, to study the word of God together. Decisions reach during the meeting may have some moral influence on some part of the church. So the meeting is consultative and advisory.
However, in the last few decades, because the Anglican Communion has emerged as an association of independent sovereign provinces around the world, the Lambeth Conference began to tackle more and more, issues in the church that have impact upon the Anglican church around the world. For instance, in 1988, the issue of polygamy featured prominently during the meeting. Very few Anglican Primates and Bishops from Africa were there and they couldn't do much to register the African perspective. But by 1998, we began to say, yes polygamy they are there in Africa quite all right, but they are not given official recognition and so, you could baptise a man who is polygamous, provided the Christian community there agree to it that the man would not add more wives. So, you can see that recommendation was made by Lambeth Conference and churches in Africa took advantage of the recommendation. Lambeth Conference did not say you must do this you must not do that. I have to give this explanation, so people will understand the nature of the Lambeth Conference.
By 1998, the whole issue of human sexuality came out to dominate the agenda of the conference and a group looked at that topic. The sub-group came up with a recommendation to the plenary. The plenary was a much bigger body than the sub-group. By this time, the largest group of people in the plenary happened to be Africans and South Asians; the group we call the South-South today, who disagreed with the recommendations and views of the sub-group. Quite unexpectedly, we pushed for a vote on the issue and an overwhelming majority of the people in the plenary - 598 I think out of about 800 - voted in favour of the African position that we cannot accept the same sex union, that it is unscriptural, unbiblical. By the time we left the conference, it was like we went away divided. Those who came with a usual, typical Anglican way of doing things, thought they would have their way and so, the Americans went away disappointed. That was the beginning of the current problem. But we have said if they would not accept what the majority of the people have said, then too bad; we will not take their position as well because that position is for us un-African, inhuman, unscriptural; and so, we won't accept it.
Like a joke, they thought that as Africans, we don't know what we are doing; particularly, the Americans and you know they always have their ways politically and economically. So, we have been dragging it since 1998 and Africans and some of our other colleagues in America, England and South Asian, we have maintained our stand that we will not continue with any of our church that ignore what the bible says. We have had several conferences and several meetings, attended several commissions to see how we could reconcile the western people with the so-called conservatives, all to no avail. In fact when America tried to ordain a practising homosexual as bishop, many conservatives broke communion with them. So today, we are in a state of a broken communion in the Anglican Church wordwide. This is critical and fundamental because when we say we are in a state of a broken communion, it means that the other group has been ex-communicated as it were or orstracised and you are not in fellowship with them anymore until that communion is restored.
As I said, we have made several efforts in Lambeth Palace, and other places, at reconciliation, but it hasn't work so far and we in Africa are saying that until we resolve the issue and until we restore communion we can't come together. What is the point of coming together? Let me give you a clear illustration of what I'm saying:
In Lambeth Palace, we met as Primates, we could not share in the Lord's Supper. It is as that bad. As Primates and Archbishops, we could not share in the Lord's Supper - the highest and most important service in our church. So, what is left of the church then? It happened in two other places like that again and again, because the faith once delivered to the saints has been abandoned as far as we are concerned. All we are saying is that, look you don't have a monopoly of homosexuals in your community. They are in Africa, they are in Abuja here and everywhere, but we don't celebrate it for God's sake. Our duty is to counsel people that are involve in it. To pray with them guide and advise them until they will come back to their senses. Many who have this problem have been healed world over. It is an acquired syndrome. But they say no, it is not an acquired syndrome, it is the way they are made. But we say no to that. God did not make a mistake in creation. God did not make a mistake in creating a man and a woman and they cannot re-create what God has already created.
So, when our brother, Rowan Williams, a man I admire so much, a man I respect so much for his intellectual ability, spirituality - and he knows that I love and respect him a great deal- but when it comes to this, his position is baffling and we cannot sweep it under the carpet. Communion must be restored first. We cannot go to Lambeth Conference to go and restore communion. We must do this before we can meet at the Lord's table.
So, that is where we are and when we heard that they have given invitation to Lambeth Conference and one of our brothers was not invited, I had to write to them on behalf of our bishops to say that 'not to invite one of our brother, is not to invite all the bishops in Nigeria. Because the man they refused to invite did not just make himself a bishop; we elected him, his election was confirmed by us and we gathered as the Church of Nigeria to consecrate him'. So what is his offence?
As soon as I did this, I called a meeting of our brother archbishops to tell them what happened - and on their behalf, what I had done; and my position was ratified by the archbishops, because I must carry them along with me in all this matter. I am now required by my brother archbishops to write a letter to Dr. Rowan Williams to tell him that whatever is going to threaten our unity as Nigerian bishops, we will not accept it. Because, not to invite one of us is to try to sow seed of discord among us and we won't accept it.
Then, again - which is very important - the leader of the church in Africa- CAPA- (Conference of Anglican Provinces of Africa) which I had the privilege and honour of chairing, some time ago, we commissioned a paper titled: The Road To Lambeth. That paper looked into the entire Lambeth Conference history, and other things;
and made some recommendations among which are, we too in Africa have our problems, which need to be address. For instance, poverty, HIV/AIDS, the insurgent of Islam and all that. How do we contain all these? I have asked the committee to go and see how we can tackle these problems. But also, the papers say that until and unless those with whom we have a broken communion repent and communion is restored, the church in Africa may not go to the Lambeth Conference. This document was commended to all the provinces for further studies last year. So, when we met in Dar-el-Salam, Tanzania last February, eight of the provinces re-affirmed that they would abide by the position of the paper as far as the Lambeth Conference is concerned. Uganda, Kenya, West Africa, Nigeria have all endorsed it. So, this not a mere threat. We are simply saying that we cannot keep fire under our roof and go to bed. A problem such as this cannot be swept under the carpet.
...
Q: What are the challenges and implications of this broken communion as it were?
A: The challenges are immense. When bishops gather in our church and they cannot share the Holy Communion, in the Lord's Supper, that is dreadful and indeed painful. It is agonising but if that is what we have to do to address the fact that we are in a broken communion over this matter, we have to do it. It is painful, and unfortunate for me not to be able to receive a communion from my fellow bishop. But we told the American church in October 2003, that if they go ahead to ordain the same sex man as bishop, that action would tear sacred of our communion. It has to be like that; maybe because the Lambeth Conference used to be leisurely gathering where they just discuss and go away, where decisions are never bidding.
If Nigeria had not taken this position and had allowed it to go like that what would have happened to our faith in this country? What would our Christian brothers say to us as Anglicans? I tell you, we would have closed our church in Nigeria in shame. We cannot say that we are in a communion and allow whatever they say to just go like that. Let me also say this: that in our human existence in this world, there was a time Africans were slaves; but we came out of it. But what again followed? Political slavery, under colonial administration. Somehow, we came out of it. Then economic slavery: World Bank, IMF would tell you what to do with your money and your own resources. Now, it is spiritual slavery and we have to resist this. They had us as human slaves, political slaves and economic slaves. They want to come for spiritual slaves. Now we won't accept it.
Q: South Africa appears to have a different approach to this. They are supporting the same sex thing in the church. Why do you think they are taking an opposing view against the general African position?
A: You also need to know the history of South Africa. They came out of apartheid regime. There is a lot of talk about social injustice, human right abuses and so on during the old regime. For many of them in that country, it is a question of human right. That if a man wants to marry a man; so what? The parliament in South Africa, you must know, has passed a bill to legalise the same sex union - to say it is lawful for a man to marry a man and for a woman to marry a woman. So, this has put the church in a corner so to say. Even in England, the parliament passed the bill, which they called Civil Partnership and the church supported it by saying that as long as they maintain celibacy and I said: 'look are you going to put camera in their bedroom to monitor what they would be doing when they are alone?' They are urging us to think more of our poverty, HIV/AIDS and other problems and forget this matter. But Jesus told his disciples that 'you will always have the poor with you'. But we are talking souls, eternity and kingdom of God and you cannot equate it with anything. HIV/AIDS will come and go; poverty will come and go. But the matter of faith is eternity. They are not the same levels. So, South Africa is part of Africa and they have taken their own decision. That is why I said earlier that only eight have endorsed our position paper. I have not heard from others provinces yet. At that meeting, Sudan did not come and there was no delegate, South Africa, Burundi and maybe three others remaining that have not responded.
But out of the eight that responded, Nigeria Uganda and Kenya in terms of strength, we already represent more that half of the entire Anglicans in the world. We are talking of about 20 million Anglicans in Nigeria alone and nearly 10 million in Uganda.
As you probably know, the Lambeth Conference is the gathering of Anglican Bishops, once in 10 years. Essentially, it is not a parliament; it is not a legislative body, it doesn't have any constitutional power, it does not have power to take decision for anybody. But they come together to pray together, think together, to study the word of God together. Decisions reach during the meeting may have some moral influence on some part of the church. So the meeting is consultative and advisory.
However, in the last few decades, because the Anglican Communion has emerged as an association of independent sovereign provinces around the world, the Lambeth Conference began to tackle more and more, issues in the church that have impact upon the Anglican church around the world. For instance, in 1988, the issue of polygamy featured prominently during the meeting. Very few Anglican Primates and Bishops from Africa were there and they couldn't do much to register the African perspective. But by 1998, we began to say, yes polygamy they are there in Africa quite all right, but they are not given official recognition and so, you could baptise a man who is polygamous, provided the Christian community there agree to it that the man would not add more wives. So, you can see that recommendation was made by Lambeth Conference and churches in Africa took advantage of the recommendation. Lambeth Conference did not say you must do this you must not do that. I have to give this explanation, so people will understand the nature of the Lambeth Conference.
By 1998, the whole issue of human sexuality came out to dominate the agenda of the conference and a group looked at that topic. The sub-group came up with a recommendation to the plenary. The plenary was a much bigger body than the sub-group. By this time, the largest group of people in the plenary happened to be Africans and South Asians; the group we call the South-South today, who disagreed with the recommendations and views of the sub-group. Quite unexpectedly, we pushed for a vote on the issue and an overwhelming majority of the people in the plenary - 598 I think out of about 800 - voted in favour of the African position that we cannot accept the same sex union, that it is unscriptural, unbiblical. By the time we left the conference, it was like we went away divided. Those who came with a usual, typical Anglican way of doing things, thought they would have their way and so, the Americans went away disappointed. That was the beginning of the current problem. But we have said if they would not accept what the majority of the people have said, then too bad; we will not take their position as well because that position is for us un-African, inhuman, unscriptural; and so, we won't accept it.
Like a joke, they thought that as Africans, we don't know what we are doing; particularly, the Americans and you know they always have their ways politically and economically. So, we have been dragging it since 1998 and Africans and some of our other colleagues in America, England and South Asian, we have maintained our stand that we will not continue with any of our church that ignore what the bible says. We have had several conferences and several meetings, attended several commissions to see how we could reconcile the western people with the so-called conservatives, all to no avail. In fact when America tried to ordain a practising homosexual as bishop, many conservatives broke communion with them. So today, we are in a state of a broken communion in the Anglican Church wordwide. This is critical and fundamental because when we say we are in a state of a broken communion, it means that the other group has been ex-communicated as it were or orstracised and you are not in fellowship with them anymore until that communion is restored.
As I said, we have made several efforts in Lambeth Palace, and other places, at reconciliation, but it hasn't work so far and we in Africa are saying that until we resolve the issue and until we restore communion we can't come together. What is the point of coming together? Let me give you a clear illustration of what I'm saying:
In Lambeth Palace, we met as Primates, we could not share in the Lord's Supper. It is as that bad. As Primates and Archbishops, we could not share in the Lord's Supper - the highest and most important service in our church. So, what is left of the church then? It happened in two other places like that again and again, because the faith once delivered to the saints has been abandoned as far as we are concerned. All we are saying is that, look you don't have a monopoly of homosexuals in your community. They are in Africa, they are in Abuja here and everywhere, but we don't celebrate it for God's sake. Our duty is to counsel people that are involve in it. To pray with them guide and advise them until they will come back to their senses. Many who have this problem have been healed world over. It is an acquired syndrome. But they say no, it is not an acquired syndrome, it is the way they are made. But we say no to that. God did not make a mistake in creation. God did not make a mistake in creating a man and a woman and they cannot re-create what God has already created.
So, when our brother, Rowan Williams, a man I admire so much, a man I respect so much for his intellectual ability, spirituality - and he knows that I love and respect him a great deal- but when it comes to this, his position is baffling and we cannot sweep it under the carpet. Communion must be restored first. We cannot go to Lambeth Conference to go and restore communion. We must do this before we can meet at the Lord's table.
So, that is where we are and when we heard that they have given invitation to Lambeth Conference and one of our brothers was not invited, I had to write to them on behalf of our bishops to say that 'not to invite one of our brother, is not to invite all the bishops in Nigeria. Because the man they refused to invite did not just make himself a bishop; we elected him, his election was confirmed by us and we gathered as the Church of Nigeria to consecrate him'. So what is his offence?
As soon as I did this, I called a meeting of our brother archbishops to tell them what happened - and on their behalf, what I had done; and my position was ratified by the archbishops, because I must carry them along with me in all this matter. I am now required by my brother archbishops to write a letter to Dr. Rowan Williams to tell him that whatever is going to threaten our unity as Nigerian bishops, we will not accept it. Because, not to invite one of us is to try to sow seed of discord among us and we won't accept it.
Then, again - which is very important - the leader of the church in Africa- CAPA- (Conference of Anglican Provinces of Africa) which I had the privilege and honour of chairing, some time ago, we commissioned a paper titled: The Road To Lambeth. That paper looked into the entire Lambeth Conference history, and other things;
and made some recommendations among which are, we too in Africa have our problems, which need to be address. For instance, poverty, HIV/AIDS, the insurgent of Islam and all that. How do we contain all these? I have asked the committee to go and see how we can tackle these problems. But also, the papers say that until and unless those with whom we have a broken communion repent and communion is restored, the church in Africa may not go to the Lambeth Conference. This document was commended to all the provinces for further studies last year. So, when we met in Dar-el-Salam, Tanzania last February, eight of the provinces re-affirmed that they would abide by the position of the paper as far as the Lambeth Conference is concerned. Uganda, Kenya, West Africa, Nigeria have all endorsed it. So, this not a mere threat. We are simply saying that we cannot keep fire under our roof and go to bed. A problem such as this cannot be swept under the carpet.
...
Q: What are the challenges and implications of this broken communion as it were?
A: The challenges are immense. When bishops gather in our church and they cannot share the Holy Communion, in the Lord's Supper, that is dreadful and indeed painful. It is agonising but if that is what we have to do to address the fact that we are in a broken communion over this matter, we have to do it. It is painful, and unfortunate for me not to be able to receive a communion from my fellow bishop. But we told the American church in October 2003, that if they go ahead to ordain the same sex man as bishop, that action would tear sacred of our communion. It has to be like that; maybe because the Lambeth Conference used to be leisurely gathering where they just discuss and go away, where decisions are never bidding.
If Nigeria had not taken this position and had allowed it to go like that what would have happened to our faith in this country? What would our Christian brothers say to us as Anglicans? I tell you, we would have closed our church in Nigeria in shame. We cannot say that we are in a communion and allow whatever they say to just go like that. Let me also say this: that in our human existence in this world, there was a time Africans were slaves; but we came out of it. But what again followed? Political slavery, under colonial administration. Somehow, we came out of it. Then economic slavery: World Bank, IMF would tell you what to do with your money and your own resources. Now, it is spiritual slavery and we have to resist this. They had us as human slaves, political slaves and economic slaves. They want to come for spiritual slaves. Now we won't accept it.
Q: South Africa appears to have a different approach to this. They are supporting the same sex thing in the church. Why do you think they are taking an opposing view against the general African position?
A: You also need to know the history of South Africa. They came out of apartheid regime. There is a lot of talk about social injustice, human right abuses and so on during the old regime. For many of them in that country, it is a question of human right. That if a man wants to marry a man; so what? The parliament in South Africa, you must know, has passed a bill to legalise the same sex union - to say it is lawful for a man to marry a man and for a woman to marry a woman. So, this has put the church in a corner so to say. Even in England, the parliament passed the bill, which they called Civil Partnership and the church supported it by saying that as long as they maintain celibacy and I said: 'look are you going to put camera in their bedroom to monitor what they would be doing when they are alone?' They are urging us to think more of our poverty, HIV/AIDS and other problems and forget this matter. But Jesus told his disciples that 'you will always have the poor with you'. But we are talking souls, eternity and kingdom of God and you cannot equate it with anything. HIV/AIDS will come and go; poverty will come and go. But the matter of faith is eternity. They are not the same levels. So, South Africa is part of Africa and they have taken their own decision. That is why I said earlier that only eight have endorsed our position paper. I have not heard from others provinces yet. At that meeting, Sudan did not come and there was no delegate, South Africa, Burundi and maybe three others remaining that have not responded.
But out of the eight that responded, Nigeria Uganda and Kenya in terms of strength, we already represent more that half of the entire Anglicans in the world. We are talking of about 20 million Anglicans in Nigeria alone and nearly 10 million in Uganda.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
What makes Global South Christians tick?
I would not normally link to Anglican Mainstream, but they do have a good article by Bishop Ben Kwashi of Nigeria, which has 70 million people. Readers can go to the site for the full article, but I'm just going to quote the parts that I think give a snapshot into what makes GS Christians, Nigerians in particular, tick. This guy is co-ordinating bishop of CANA, which is a conservative Anglican ministry in the US started by Nigeria. As such, his lack of vitriol about homosexuality, especially in comparison to his Primate, may be instructive.
Where are we now?
Today therefore we have in Nigeria a growing Anglican Church in a country whose population is growing even faster! That means that it is a predominantly young population. The youth form the majority in our churches. At a point the average age of the Plateau State was calculated to be as low as 22 years.
In comparison with the west we have a young church, young in its existence and young in its membership.
We have a church which in parts of the country is persecuted, suffering and not free to build structures or buy land.
We have a church which is facing the growth and incursion of Islam.
We have a church which is struggling with poverty, societal corruption and political uncertainties.
We have a church which is still struggling with inherited colonial mindsets concerning power, ability and trust.
We have a church which draws its membership from very many different tribal and racial groups, many of which have fought each other in the past, and now have to learn to live and grow together.
But above all, we have a church where faith is vital, real and the motivating power behind life and worship. It is a faith worth living for and a faith worth dying for – and thousands have so died. The very possibility of persecution makes a difference, and lessens complacency. Please do not think that we have all the answers or that every single church is alert, alive and kicking – sadly that is not so! The vision is beginning to fade especially in some of the older churches, and that situation must be rectified before they fall into the sleep of death, and before mission degenerates into maintenance. But overall there is a fire and a passion which is burning, and we must fan that fire until it catches light over the whole country – and all over the world.
The burning concern for mission is at the heart of what it means for us to be Anglican. We are therefore training and sending missionaries further and further afield, for example reaching into the nooks and crannies of the north of Nigeria and from there over the border into Liger, Cameroun, and even Kazakistan, with some missionaries working from their diocese, some through the Church of Nigeria Missionary Society. CNMS is the heart-beat of Anglican work in Nigeria and beyond. For many years we have had a Nigerian chaplain working with students in London: Cyril Okorocha, Ken Okeke, Jacob Ajetinobe and now Ben Enwuchola. The Rt Rev Abiodun Olaoye is a missionary Bishop working in the Congo; the Rt Rev Simon Mutum is working with the nomadic mission in the North of Nigeria; the Rt Rev Martyn Minns is in America. These bishops are all bishops of the Church of Nigeria, consecrated along with others in Nigeria, but sent by the church to work in other areas or countries, just as in earlier years, English bishops came to work alongside us here. We in our turn are glad to welcome long term mission partners as well as short term visitors to live and work in Nigeria.
Where are we going?
In the world today there is much suffering, darkness, evil and death. The one and only power which can overcome this and transform individuals, communities and nations is the power of the gospel. The gospel is not a static, established tradition but a living powerful force with the ability to transform in ways which even pass the hopes and expectations of those who carry and plant the initial seed.
The gospel is all about the Kingdom. At the start of his ministry, Jesus set out his agenda by quoting from the prophet Isaiah: the Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour. (Lk 4.18-19).
There are huge social concerns to be met in Africa: the poor, the widows, orphans, refugees, homeless, HIV/AIDS patients and their families and so much more, but caring for these is a result of an overriding vision for the Kingdom and for mission. If any one of these works of compassion becomes and end in itself, then we are back in the potentially dangerous situation of Acts 6: “Now during those days, when the disciples were increasing in number, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food.” (Acts 6:1).
Caring for the widows had given rise to grumbling, complaints and backbiting which not only resurrected what we might refer to as tribal or nationalistic sentiments and prejudices, but which actually threatened to hinder the spread of the gospel. The attention of the church was being turned inwards upon itself, rather than looking outwards to the world and to its call and mission. The apostles quickly realised that this was a trick of the devil, and they at once set in motion a godly plan of action which took care of all the aggrieved parties and which set the apostles free to preach, to teach and to continue this mission.
Today in Africa one of the biggest social concerns is HIV/AIDS which still claims hundreds of lives each year. The church has therefore set up specialist ministries to teach, to care for and to support patients, families and communities, leaving other pastors free to concentrate on other aspects of mission and ministry. All ordinands are trained in HIV/AIDS counselling at our seminary and we are aware that we have pastors and workers who are HIV positive, but the prime focus of the church is not on HIV/AIDS. It is on preaching the gospel in word and in living (of which caring for those who suffer is an example).
In Nigeria homosexuality is not such a big issue as poverty, diseases, corruption, political stability and HIV/AIDS, nor by the way is homosexuality a major cause of HIV infection which is much more likely to be spread by heterosexual intercourse. Amongst ordinary church members, there is surprise and some bewilderment that homosexuality should be the cause of so much trouble and they cannot see why it should have assumed such prime importance that it threatens to stop the growth and mission of the church. They wonder why it could not be dealt with, yes in truth and honesty, but with love and compassion, in such a way that the overriding purpose, vision and reason for the existence of the church is not lost, but continues apace.
It is the gospel which has brought us education, health care, and so much more, but above all, it is the gospel which has brought life, light and hope in darkness – for this world and the next. We therefore are not prepared to compromise or trade this gospel for anything at all – not even for our physical lives. The gospel, as Paul describes it in Romans 1 16-17 is the power of God; it is universal, and it is a faith venture.
Where are we now?
Today therefore we have in Nigeria a growing Anglican Church in a country whose population is growing even faster! That means that it is a predominantly young population. The youth form the majority in our churches. At a point the average age of the Plateau State was calculated to be as low as 22 years.
In comparison with the west we have a young church, young in its existence and young in its membership.
We have a church which in parts of the country is persecuted, suffering and not free to build structures or buy land.
We have a church which is facing the growth and incursion of Islam.
We have a church which is struggling with poverty, societal corruption and political uncertainties.
We have a church which is still struggling with inherited colonial mindsets concerning power, ability and trust.
We have a church which draws its membership from very many different tribal and racial groups, many of which have fought each other in the past, and now have to learn to live and grow together.
But above all, we have a church where faith is vital, real and the motivating power behind life and worship. It is a faith worth living for and a faith worth dying for – and thousands have so died. The very possibility of persecution makes a difference, and lessens complacency. Please do not think that we have all the answers or that every single church is alert, alive and kicking – sadly that is not so! The vision is beginning to fade especially in some of the older churches, and that situation must be rectified before they fall into the sleep of death, and before mission degenerates into maintenance. But overall there is a fire and a passion which is burning, and we must fan that fire until it catches light over the whole country – and all over the world.
The burning concern for mission is at the heart of what it means for us to be Anglican. We are therefore training and sending missionaries further and further afield, for example reaching into the nooks and crannies of the north of Nigeria and from there over the border into Liger, Cameroun, and even Kazakistan, with some missionaries working from their diocese, some through the Church of Nigeria Missionary Society. CNMS is the heart-beat of Anglican work in Nigeria and beyond. For many years we have had a Nigerian chaplain working with students in London: Cyril Okorocha, Ken Okeke, Jacob Ajetinobe and now Ben Enwuchola. The Rt Rev Abiodun Olaoye is a missionary Bishop working in the Congo; the Rt Rev Simon Mutum is working with the nomadic mission in the North of Nigeria; the Rt Rev Martyn Minns is in America. These bishops are all bishops of the Church of Nigeria, consecrated along with others in Nigeria, but sent by the church to work in other areas or countries, just as in earlier years, English bishops came to work alongside us here. We in our turn are glad to welcome long term mission partners as well as short term visitors to live and work in Nigeria.
Where are we going?
In the world today there is much suffering, darkness, evil and death. The one and only power which can overcome this and transform individuals, communities and nations is the power of the gospel. The gospel is not a static, established tradition but a living powerful force with the ability to transform in ways which even pass the hopes and expectations of those who carry and plant the initial seed.
The gospel is all about the Kingdom. At the start of his ministry, Jesus set out his agenda by quoting from the prophet Isaiah: the Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour. (Lk 4.18-19).
There are huge social concerns to be met in Africa: the poor, the widows, orphans, refugees, homeless, HIV/AIDS patients and their families and so much more, but caring for these is a result of an overriding vision for the Kingdom and for mission. If any one of these works of compassion becomes and end in itself, then we are back in the potentially dangerous situation of Acts 6: “Now during those days, when the disciples were increasing in number, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food.” (Acts 6:1).
Caring for the widows had given rise to grumbling, complaints and backbiting which not only resurrected what we might refer to as tribal or nationalistic sentiments and prejudices, but which actually threatened to hinder the spread of the gospel. The attention of the church was being turned inwards upon itself, rather than looking outwards to the world and to its call and mission. The apostles quickly realised that this was a trick of the devil, and they at once set in motion a godly plan of action which took care of all the aggrieved parties and which set the apostles free to preach, to teach and to continue this mission.
Today in Africa one of the biggest social concerns is HIV/AIDS which still claims hundreds of lives each year. The church has therefore set up specialist ministries to teach, to care for and to support patients, families and communities, leaving other pastors free to concentrate on other aspects of mission and ministry. All ordinands are trained in HIV/AIDS counselling at our seminary and we are aware that we have pastors and workers who are HIV positive, but the prime focus of the church is not on HIV/AIDS. It is on preaching the gospel in word and in living (of which caring for those who suffer is an example).
In Nigeria homosexuality is not such a big issue as poverty, diseases, corruption, political stability and HIV/AIDS, nor by the way is homosexuality a major cause of HIV infection which is much more likely to be spread by heterosexual intercourse. Amongst ordinary church members, there is surprise and some bewilderment that homosexuality should be the cause of so much trouble and they cannot see why it should have assumed such prime importance that it threatens to stop the growth and mission of the church. They wonder why it could not be dealt with, yes in truth and honesty, but with love and compassion, in such a way that the overriding purpose, vision and reason for the existence of the church is not lost, but continues apace.
It is the gospel which has brought us education, health care, and so much more, but above all, it is the gospel which has brought life, light and hope in darkness – for this world and the next. We therefore are not prepared to compromise or trade this gospel for anything at all – not even for our physical lives. The gospel, as Paul describes it in Romans 1 16-17 is the power of God; it is universal, and it is a faith venture.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Bernard Mizeki, murdered June 18, 1896
Almighty and everlasting God, who kindled the flame of your love in the heart of your holy martyr Bernard Mizeki: Grant to us, your humble servants, a like faith and power of love, that we who rejoice in his triumph may profit by his example; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Bernard was born Mamiyeri Mitseka Gwambe in Portugese East Africa, now Mozambique. He moved to Cape Town, now South Africa, to find work. The poverty and drunkeness of the slums he lived in touched him, and he never drank alcohol. Slums, by the way, still exist in South Africa.
Bernard found the Cowley Fathers' mission, and attended their night school. He later converted to Christianity, took on his christian name, and quickly started converting people. He was then sent to Zonnbloem College to train as a catechist, mastering many African and European languages.
He later accompanied the missionary bishop of Shonaland, George William Knight-Bruce. He came to live simply as the Shona people did, discarding the furniture he built, and to translate the Bible and liturgy into the Shona language. Although he opposed some traditional religious customs, Bernard was very attentive to the nuances of Shona Spirit religion. He developed an approach that built on people’s already monotheistic faith in the one God Mwari and on their sensitivity to spirit life at the same time that he forthrightly proclaimed the Christ. He later married Mutwa, a convert, and was well-respected by everyone except the witch doctors.
One of them, it seems, later had him murdered. There was a rebellion in Mashonaland, and missionaries were ordered to leave, but Mutwa was pregnant, and Bernared stayed. On June 18, he was dragged from his hut and fatally stabbed. Mutwa found him. He ordered her to leave, and she ran to get him some food and blankets. She, and others, saw a bright white light, and heard a sound “like many wings of great birds." When she returned, his body had disappeared.
The place of Bernard's death has become a pilgrimage shrine for all Christians, and a great communion service is held in his honor every June 18.
The more prosaic explanation for the miracle of his disappearance is that Mchemwa, the son of the chief, a "troublemaker", and Bernard's likely murderer, likely had returned to hide the body.
Bernard respected the customs of the people. He did not simply come and tell them what to believe. He let them change him, as much as he tried to change them.
Bernard's story also gives us a glimpse into Christianity in the Global South. Bishop John Spong, one of the Episcopal Church's more controversial and abrasive bishops, once condemned African Christians as superstitious. Not to be outdone, I personally have condemned Asian Christians as superstitious as well. However, Christianity in Asia and Africa is not far removed from indigenous religions. Most Christians are recent converts.
In Asia, many young Christians convert while their families are still praying at shrines in the house set up to idols. People will burn joss sticks (a form of incense) in honor of their dead ancestors. People will offer food to their ancestors - as in, real food. For their ancestors to eat, at least in some metaphysical way. Families burn "hell money" at the Hungry Ghosts festival, so that their ancestors have money to spend in the afterlife.
Rationalist Christianity is not too popular in the Global South. Christians are not trying to convert secular humanists. They are trying to convert those who practice tribal religions, or Hindiusm or Islam. To engage with those religions, one doesn't use a rationalist mindset.
I still don't approve of the way my Global South brothers and sisters in Christ do things. I would rather they heed Brian McLaren's words: don't try to "shoe-horn them out of their religion". Don't impose Christianity on indigenous peoples at the expense of their cultures. Bernard Mizeki did no such thing.
Source
Mike Oettle, who writes about a few saints including Bernard, here.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Reverse missionaries
Ken Sullivan, writing for Washington Post, has this article about missionary pastors from the Global South going to Western nations, where Christianity has stagnated, to do mission work. The balance of power in Christianity is shifting.
Of course, you know I don't think that's a good thing. Too often, these new Christians are locked into rigid ways of thinking that exclude certain groups of people. I would not be proud to see Global South Christians following the bigoted past of Western Christians. Show me the Brian McLarens of the Global South, and I'll be much more bullish.
The Episcopal Church I attend uses jazz music in worship. There was once a clown service at, I think, Trinity Cathedral on Wall Street (don't quote me, but it was a major church), where all the celebrants were dressed as clowns. There is also a U2charist, which is a service set to U2 music. Not all the older crowd is comfortable with such liturgical innovation. But, frankly, if they don't want the Episcopal Church to end at their generation, they will have to get comfortable with it. Every organization's structures need shaking up once in a while, and this can definitely be done while retaining the best parts of ancient tradition.
The "Amens!" flew like popcorn in hot oil as 120 Christian worshipers clapped and danced and praised Jesus as if he'd just walked into the room. In a country where about 2 percent of the population attend church regularly and many churches can barely fill a single pew, the Sunday morning service at this old mission hall was one rocking celebration.
Amid all the keyboards, drums and hallelujahs, Stendor Johansen, a blond Danish sea captain built like a 180-pound ice cube, sang and danced, as he said, like a Dane -- without moving.
"The Danish church is boring," said Johansen, 45, who left the state-run Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church three years ago and joined this high-octane interdenominational church run by a missionary pastor from Singapore. "I feel energized when I leave one of these services."
The International Christian Community (ICC) is one of about 150 churches in Denmark that are run by foreigners, many from Africa, Asia and Latin America, part of a growing trend of preachers from developing nations coming to Western Europe to set up new churches or try to reinvigorate old ones.
For centuries, when Europe was the global center of Christianity, European missionaries traveled to other continents to spread their faith by establishing schools and churches. Now, with European church attendance at all-time lows and a dearth of preachers in the pulpits, "reverse missionaries" are flocking back, migrating from poor countries to rich ones to preach the Gospel where it has fallen out of fashion.
From East back to West
The phenomenon signals a fundamental shift in the power, style and geography of the world's largest religion. Most of Christianity's more than 2 billion adherents now live in the developing world. And as vast numbers of them migrate to Europe, they are filling pews and changing worship styles.
Thousands of missionaries from countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, South Korea and the Philippines have come to Europe to set up churches in homes, office buildings and storefronts. Officials from the Redeemed Christian Church of God, a Pentecostal church based in Nigeria, said they have 250 churches in Britain now and plan to create 100 more this year. Britain's largest church, run by a Nigerian pastor in London, attracts up to 12,000 people over three services every Sunday.
The trend is vivid in Denmark, where charismatic preachers from Africa, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, India, Iran and Latin America have set up vibrant Protestant and Catholic churches.
"When we became Christians in the East, we read the Bible and it said, 'Go out into the world and spread the Gospel,' " Pastor Ravi Chandran told the congregation at the ICC's hall here one recent Sunday. "And guess what? We came back to the West!"
Chandran, a youthful 42, grinned broadly as he looked out at the rainbow of worshipers.
"Can you say 'Amen' to that?" he asked, and Johansen, his wife and children joined the rest of the congregation in a thunderous "Amen!"
Finding new value
Back home after church, tucking into a lunch of traditional Danish open-faced sandwiches, Johansen said that for most of his life he hadn't bothered going to services at the "state church," as the Lutheran Church is known here.
"As kids, we were not allowed to make any noise on Sundays," he said. The church seemed to him to place a higher value on order and ancient traditions than on tending to the concerns of parishioners. "The church didn't add any value to me. It gave me nothing I could use in my day-to-day life."
Danes joke that almost everyone in Denmark is Lutheran but almost no one is religious. On a typical Sunday morning, most of Denmark's 2,100 parish churches are lucky to attract 20 worshipers each.
Karsten Nissen, one of the country's 10 Lutheran bishops, said that a quarter to a third of all people in church in Copenhagen any given Sunday morning are attending a foreign-run service. "These churches are a gift to our Danish Lutheran Church," Nissen said. "They open our eyes to a more human way of being Christians. It's the way we were Christians 100 years ago -- a very simple way, a good way, a more pious way, and a more open and happy way of worship."
Of course, you know I don't think that's a good thing. Too often, these new Christians are locked into rigid ways of thinking that exclude certain groups of people. I would not be proud to see Global South Christians following the bigoted past of Western Christians. Show me the Brian McLarens of the Global South, and I'll be much more bullish.
The Episcopal Church I attend uses jazz music in worship. There was once a clown service at, I think, Trinity Cathedral on Wall Street (don't quote me, but it was a major church), where all the celebrants were dressed as clowns. There is also a U2charist, which is a service set to U2 music. Not all the older crowd is comfortable with such liturgical innovation. But, frankly, if they don't want the Episcopal Church to end at their generation, they will have to get comfortable with it. Every organization's structures need shaking up once in a while, and this can definitely be done while retaining the best parts of ancient tradition.
The "Amens!" flew like popcorn in hot oil as 120 Christian worshipers clapped and danced and praised Jesus as if he'd just walked into the room. In a country where about 2 percent of the population attend church regularly and many churches can barely fill a single pew, the Sunday morning service at this old mission hall was one rocking celebration.
Amid all the keyboards, drums and hallelujahs, Stendor Johansen, a blond Danish sea captain built like a 180-pound ice cube, sang and danced, as he said, like a Dane -- without moving.
"The Danish church is boring," said Johansen, 45, who left the state-run Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church three years ago and joined this high-octane interdenominational church run by a missionary pastor from Singapore. "I feel energized when I leave one of these services."
The International Christian Community (ICC) is one of about 150 churches in Denmark that are run by foreigners, many from Africa, Asia and Latin America, part of a growing trend of preachers from developing nations coming to Western Europe to set up new churches or try to reinvigorate old ones.
For centuries, when Europe was the global center of Christianity, European missionaries traveled to other continents to spread their faith by establishing schools and churches. Now, with European church attendance at all-time lows and a dearth of preachers in the pulpits, "reverse missionaries" are flocking back, migrating from poor countries to rich ones to preach the Gospel where it has fallen out of fashion.
From East back to West
The phenomenon signals a fundamental shift in the power, style and geography of the world's largest religion. Most of Christianity's more than 2 billion adherents now live in the developing world. And as vast numbers of them migrate to Europe, they are filling pews and changing worship styles.
Thousands of missionaries from countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, South Korea and the Philippines have come to Europe to set up churches in homes, office buildings and storefronts. Officials from the Redeemed Christian Church of God, a Pentecostal church based in Nigeria, said they have 250 churches in Britain now and plan to create 100 more this year. Britain's largest church, run by a Nigerian pastor in London, attracts up to 12,000 people over three services every Sunday.
The trend is vivid in Denmark, where charismatic preachers from Africa, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, India, Iran and Latin America have set up vibrant Protestant and Catholic churches.
"When we became Christians in the East, we read the Bible and it said, 'Go out into the world and spread the Gospel,' " Pastor Ravi Chandran told the congregation at the ICC's hall here one recent Sunday. "And guess what? We came back to the West!"
Chandran, a youthful 42, grinned broadly as he looked out at the rainbow of worshipers.
"Can you say 'Amen' to that?" he asked, and Johansen, his wife and children joined the rest of the congregation in a thunderous "Amen!"
Finding new value
Back home after church, tucking into a lunch of traditional Danish open-faced sandwiches, Johansen said that for most of his life he hadn't bothered going to services at the "state church," as the Lutheran Church is known here.
"As kids, we were not allowed to make any noise on Sundays," he said. The church seemed to him to place a higher value on order and ancient traditions than on tending to the concerns of parishioners. "The church didn't add any value to me. It gave me nothing I could use in my day-to-day life."
Danes joke that almost everyone in Denmark is Lutheran but almost no one is religious. On a typical Sunday morning, most of Denmark's 2,100 parish churches are lucky to attract 20 worshipers each.
Karsten Nissen, one of the country's 10 Lutheran bishops, said that a quarter to a third of all people in church in Copenhagen any given Sunday morning are attending a foreign-run service. "These churches are a gift to our Danish Lutheran Church," Nissen said. "They open our eyes to a more human way of being Christians. It's the way we were Christians 100 years ago -- a very simple way, a good way, a more pious way, and a more open and happy way of worship."
Sunday, June 10, 2007
An interview with Archbishop of SE Asia, John Chew
This was taken from Global South Anglican's website, and it was originally published in the Straits Times, Singapore's main English newspaper. Chew makes some comments that I've bolded and responded to below.
Source: The Strait Times
April 16, 2006
THE LUNCH INTERVIEW - Straight talker who loves his work
Bishop John Chew, head of the Anglican Church in Singapore, makes no apologies for expressing his views and believes other citizens should do the same. Unpretentious, solid and substantial, Dr Chew believes there could be other ways to approach the challenges that Singapore faces - by Tan Hsueh Yun
THE interview date was set, the time locked down. But where would we lunch?
‘Come over to the diocese (office),’ says the press liaison for Bishop John Chew, head of the Anglican Church here. ‘It’s the bishop’s favourite restaurant but he doesn’t know the address.’
After a short chat at the distinctive building in Francis Thomas Drive, the one with the fish scale-like plaster work on the facade, we pile into Dr Chew’s Toyota Camry and head to the restaurant.
Mystery solved - he has picked an eatery tucked away in quiet Whampoa West, on the ground floor of an HDB block. Guan Hin Restaurant has been there a long time and is one of those places that still attracts a steady stream of customers because it serves excellent Teochew food.
Dr Chew, 58, is obviously at home there. The staff greet him like a regular, he orders in fluent Teochew and then settles down to the interview.
You could say the choice of restaurant says a lot about the man - unpretentious, solid, substantial. But you would expect that of someone who leads the 25,000 Anglicans in Singapore and who was recently inaugurated as the third Archbishop of the Anglican Church’s South-east Asian province.
What really sets the bishop apart is that he is not afraid to speak his mind.
It was shown during the debate on whether or not Singapore should have a casino. The Anglican Church encouraged its members to register their objections, whether by speaking up or writing to the media.
He also makes it clear he did not think much of the safeguards - such as the entry fee. Even after the announcement that Singapore would go ahead and build two casinos, he still speaks passionately about the issue when asked.
Tucking into steamed garoupa during the interview, he says he is not convinced people will come to Singapore just because of the casinos. Indeed, he believes there could be other ways to approach the challenges Singapore faces. While these might be economically less attractive, the social and cultural gains would more than offset the lesser economic gains.
‘To say I was disappointed is a real understatement,’ he says.
The way he sees it, the effects the integrated resorts have may be felt only later. ‘You won’t see it in this generation, maybe two generations down the road,’ he says.
This slippery moral slope worries him. He cites the film Brokeback Mountain, about two cowboys who fall in love while herding sheep one summer in Wyoming, as another warning sign. ‘It may be a cultured way of depicting a certain lifestyle, but two generations later, it will be an accepted lifestyle.’
The decision by Britain to recognise same-sex civil partnerships also comes in for strong criticism. Singer Elton John and his partner David Furnish were among the first legally bound gay couples there.
Says Dr Chew: ‘If Elton John can do it, imagine the impact on his fans.’
The way he sees it, Singapore cannot afford to go down that path. ‘It is just too dangerous, we have no fallback, “he says. “It’s not like in the West, where these things take time to trickle down.”
My conclusion is we don’t have room for error. We are too small not to think of future generations.”
Which is why he believes concerned citizens, Christians and others with religious beliefs have a duty to make their views known. He says, ”If our voices of concern are not heard, there will be a group of people who want to contribute to the well-being of the country who will be disenchanted. This will be Singapore’s loss. If they give up, it will be very serious.”
The frankness, the desire not to take things lying down, may have something to do with the struggles of his youth. He was born the fifth child in a family with three sons and three daughters. His mother worked at the Singapore Anti-Tuberculosis Association and his father, whose family had rubber and pineapple, worked in the family business.
He was schooled in Catholic High and Anglican High Schools and went to Nanyang University, where he majored in government and public administration, graduated with honours in 1970. Yet there seemed to be what he perceived as an “invisible ceiling” when it came time for graduates to go job-hunting.
“English-educated graduates were riding the wave all the time,” he says. “The Chinese-educated had to struggle for everything.”
He recalls how a university mate, a chemical engineering graduate, accepted a job a Singapore University graduate had rejected. His friend was paid half the salary offered to the English-educated job seeker.
But he remembers all this without a trace of bitterness. “You don’t take things for granted,” he says matter-of-factly. “You know you have to struggle, you have to do better. You appreciate whatever chances come your way.
His first job in 1971, was an assistant director in the Defence Ministry, where he says he learnt to track issues and do research. A year after, he married his university sweetheart Swee Kin, then a teacher.
He stayed at Mindef for two years, then moved to what was then the Ministry of Science and Technology, where he worked for three years as an administrative assistant.
Then, the five years he had given himself to experience working life was up, and it was time to heed the calling. It had come in 1969, when he was still at Nantah.
It was during his years there that his Christian faith grew, and he became a member of the university’s Christian fellowship.
Having made the decision to heed the calling, he says he then made a rash decision.
The calm, measured man lunching at Guan Hin is the last person you would expect to make a reckless decision, but he insists that was what he did when he decided to study theology and divinity at the University of London.
He says: ‘Looking back, it was scary. We didn’t have much in the way of savings and at the end of the first year, there was enough in my savings account to buy a one-way ticket home for one of us.’
He wondered if he should call it quits but then something happened, the sort of thing that strengthens a person’s faith.
He went to college one morning during a term break. Something drove him there, and he went to his pigeon hole. In it was a letter.
He says: ‘It was something out of the blue, from a university mate from the Nanyang University Graduates Christian Fellowship. He had sent a cheque with money collected from a group of friends.’
The emotional impact of finding that letter still resonates today. Dr Chew looks down and pauses for a minute before continuing. ‘I can’t remember how much it was but it was enough for me to stay on. Other help gradually came in and we lived as frugally as possible.’
He completed his doctorate in Old Testament Studies at Sheffield University in 1982, came back to Singapore and joined Trinity Theological College as a lecturer, becoming principal in 1991. He held that post until 1999, and was installed as the eighth Bishop of Singapore in 2000.
In February this year, he started a four-year term as the third Archbishop of the Anglican Church in South-east Asia. Aside from the Diocese of Singapore, the province also includes the Dioceses of Kuching, Sabah and West Malaysia.
He says Singapore plays a major role in the Anglican communion, and will work to have its voice heard as part of the Global South network of non-Western Anglican Churches.
There is also much to do here. On June 4, the St Andrew’s Church Mission marks its 150th anniversary here with a special service at St Andrew’s Cathedral.
In August, St Andrew’s Village, which houses the three St Andrew’s schools and Ascension Kindergarten, will be launched. This will be followed in October by the official opening of St Andrew’s Community Hospital in Simei.
The church will also break ground this year for the St Andrew’s Autism Centre in Siglap, which will be ready in two years. It is the first of its kind in Asia as it will provide day care facilities for autistic people aged 13 to 55.
With the busy schedule, it is perhaps fortunate the bishop loves his work. ‘If you feel your energy is spent in a meaningful, productive way, that is a form of rest,’ he says.
He does, however, make time to have dinner at home whenever possible with his wife. Their son Chih Ern, 31, works in events management.
Home is in Bishopsgate, the official residence of the Anglican Bishop.
But surely he has to deal with work stress? How does he cope?
He says he does not golf and is happiest with a book and the company of his family. ‘I don’t have to fight boardroom battles. That saves a lot of energy.’
Always speaking his mind.
[Edit: Well, this is Archbishop Chew. Good for him, living simply and speaking forthrightly. Too many noveau-riche Asians don't do that.
His comments about the homosexual "lifestyle" are very interesting. They imply that he's not so sure it's wrong to be gay, but that he sees it as too much of a risk for Singapore (which is a 4-million person city state - pretty small) to allow "homosexual lifestyles", whatever that means.
First, his actions at Dar Es Salaam, when he walked out of Communion with the Episcopal Church's Presiding Bishop, say a different thing: that he thinks homosexuality is a sin. I'd suggest to him that he stick with this line of thought, because the "too risky to experiment" tack is not a logical position.
It's not a logical position because LGBT people have lived in relationships and families for some time now in the West. The IRD and their ilk would have you believe that this has led to the destruction of the institution of marriage, but as I previously pointed out, the institution of marriage is a lot tougher than they think. The nature of relationships has changed. But people still get married and they give it their best shot, and if marriage is in trouble, you can't blame that on gay people. LGBT people have also adopted kids, or had their own through artificial insemination. All the reliable psychological research has shown that if the parents are well-adjusted, so are the kids.
In many ways, LGBT people are developing their own variations on relationships. That is experimentation, true. But the fact that they have relationships is not experientation. John Chew asks, if Eltoh John can wed David Furnish, imagine the impact on his fans. Well, are his fans going it at like rabbits with people of the same sex? I hope his imagination isn't that lurid.
Chew, by the way, hasn't responded to my letter upbraiding him for walking out of Communion and quoting the Bible sloppily to justify himself. Not that I expected him to.]
Source: The Strait Times
April 16, 2006
THE LUNCH INTERVIEW - Straight talker who loves his work
Bishop John Chew, head of the Anglican Church in Singapore, makes no apologies for expressing his views and believes other citizens should do the same. Unpretentious, solid and substantial, Dr Chew believes there could be other ways to approach the challenges that Singapore faces - by Tan Hsueh Yun
THE interview date was set, the time locked down. But where would we lunch?
‘Come over to the diocese (office),’ says the press liaison for Bishop John Chew, head of the Anglican Church here. ‘It’s the bishop’s favourite restaurant but he doesn’t know the address.’
After a short chat at the distinctive building in Francis Thomas Drive, the one with the fish scale-like plaster work on the facade, we pile into Dr Chew’s Toyota Camry and head to the restaurant.
Mystery solved - he has picked an eatery tucked away in quiet Whampoa West, on the ground floor of an HDB block. Guan Hin Restaurant has been there a long time and is one of those places that still attracts a steady stream of customers because it serves excellent Teochew food.
Dr Chew, 58, is obviously at home there. The staff greet him like a regular, he orders in fluent Teochew and then settles down to the interview.
You could say the choice of restaurant says a lot about the man - unpretentious, solid, substantial. But you would expect that of someone who leads the 25,000 Anglicans in Singapore and who was recently inaugurated as the third Archbishop of the Anglican Church’s South-east Asian province.
What really sets the bishop apart is that he is not afraid to speak his mind.
It was shown during the debate on whether or not Singapore should have a casino. The Anglican Church encouraged its members to register their objections, whether by speaking up or writing to the media.
He also makes it clear he did not think much of the safeguards - such as the entry fee. Even after the announcement that Singapore would go ahead and build two casinos, he still speaks passionately about the issue when asked.
Tucking into steamed garoupa during the interview, he says he is not convinced people will come to Singapore just because of the casinos. Indeed, he believes there could be other ways to approach the challenges Singapore faces. While these might be economically less attractive, the social and cultural gains would more than offset the lesser economic gains.
‘To say I was disappointed is a real understatement,’ he says.
The way he sees it, the effects the integrated resorts have may be felt only later. ‘You won’t see it in this generation, maybe two generations down the road,’ he says.
This slippery moral slope worries him. He cites the film Brokeback Mountain, about two cowboys who fall in love while herding sheep one summer in Wyoming, as another warning sign. ‘It may be a cultured way of depicting a certain lifestyle, but two generations later, it will be an accepted lifestyle.’
The decision by Britain to recognise same-sex civil partnerships also comes in for strong criticism. Singer Elton John and his partner David Furnish were among the first legally bound gay couples there.
Says Dr Chew: ‘If Elton John can do it, imagine the impact on his fans.’
The way he sees it, Singapore cannot afford to go down that path. ‘It is just too dangerous, we have no fallback, “he says. “It’s not like in the West, where these things take time to trickle down.”
My conclusion is we don’t have room for error. We are too small not to think of future generations.”
Which is why he believes concerned citizens, Christians and others with religious beliefs have a duty to make their views known. He says, ”If our voices of concern are not heard, there will be a group of people who want to contribute to the well-being of the country who will be disenchanted. This will be Singapore’s loss. If they give up, it will be very serious.”
The frankness, the desire not to take things lying down, may have something to do with the struggles of his youth. He was born the fifth child in a family with three sons and three daughters. His mother worked at the Singapore Anti-Tuberculosis Association and his father, whose family had rubber and pineapple, worked in the family business.
He was schooled in Catholic High and Anglican High Schools and went to Nanyang University, where he majored in government and public administration, graduated with honours in 1970. Yet there seemed to be what he perceived as an “invisible ceiling” when it came time for graduates to go job-hunting.
“English-educated graduates were riding the wave all the time,” he says. “The Chinese-educated had to struggle for everything.”
He recalls how a university mate, a chemical engineering graduate, accepted a job a Singapore University graduate had rejected. His friend was paid half the salary offered to the English-educated job seeker.
But he remembers all this without a trace of bitterness. “You don’t take things for granted,” he says matter-of-factly. “You know you have to struggle, you have to do better. You appreciate whatever chances come your way.
His first job in 1971, was an assistant director in the Defence Ministry, where he says he learnt to track issues and do research. A year after, he married his university sweetheart Swee Kin, then a teacher.
He stayed at Mindef for two years, then moved to what was then the Ministry of Science and Technology, where he worked for three years as an administrative assistant.
Then, the five years he had given himself to experience working life was up, and it was time to heed the calling. It had come in 1969, when he was still at Nantah.
It was during his years there that his Christian faith grew, and he became a member of the university’s Christian fellowship.
Having made the decision to heed the calling, he says he then made a rash decision.
The calm, measured man lunching at Guan Hin is the last person you would expect to make a reckless decision, but he insists that was what he did when he decided to study theology and divinity at the University of London.
He says: ‘Looking back, it was scary. We didn’t have much in the way of savings and at the end of the first year, there was enough in my savings account to buy a one-way ticket home for one of us.’
He wondered if he should call it quits but then something happened, the sort of thing that strengthens a person’s faith.
He went to college one morning during a term break. Something drove him there, and he went to his pigeon hole. In it was a letter.
He says: ‘It was something out of the blue, from a university mate from the Nanyang University Graduates Christian Fellowship. He had sent a cheque with money collected from a group of friends.’
The emotional impact of finding that letter still resonates today. Dr Chew looks down and pauses for a minute before continuing. ‘I can’t remember how much it was but it was enough for me to stay on. Other help gradually came in and we lived as frugally as possible.’
He completed his doctorate in Old Testament Studies at Sheffield University in 1982, came back to Singapore and joined Trinity Theological College as a lecturer, becoming principal in 1991. He held that post until 1999, and was installed as the eighth Bishop of Singapore in 2000.
In February this year, he started a four-year term as the third Archbishop of the Anglican Church in South-east Asia. Aside from the Diocese of Singapore, the province also includes the Dioceses of Kuching, Sabah and West Malaysia.
He says Singapore plays a major role in the Anglican communion, and will work to have its voice heard as part of the Global South network of non-Western Anglican Churches.
There is also much to do here. On June 4, the St Andrew’s Church Mission marks its 150th anniversary here with a special service at St Andrew’s Cathedral.
In August, St Andrew’s Village, which houses the three St Andrew’s schools and Ascension Kindergarten, will be launched. This will be followed in October by the official opening of St Andrew’s Community Hospital in Simei.
The church will also break ground this year for the St Andrew’s Autism Centre in Siglap, which will be ready in two years. It is the first of its kind in Asia as it will provide day care facilities for autistic people aged 13 to 55.
With the busy schedule, it is perhaps fortunate the bishop loves his work. ‘If you feel your energy is spent in a meaningful, productive way, that is a form of rest,’ he says.
He does, however, make time to have dinner at home whenever possible with his wife. Their son Chih Ern, 31, works in events management.
Home is in Bishopsgate, the official residence of the Anglican Bishop.
But surely he has to deal with work stress? How does he cope?
He says he does not golf and is happiest with a book and the company of his family. ‘I don’t have to fight boardroom battles. That saves a lot of energy.’
Always speaking his mind.
[Edit: Well, this is Archbishop Chew. Good for him, living simply and speaking forthrightly. Too many noveau-riche Asians don't do that.
His comments about the homosexual "lifestyle" are very interesting. They imply that he's not so sure it's wrong to be gay, but that he sees it as too much of a risk for Singapore (which is a 4-million person city state - pretty small) to allow "homosexual lifestyles", whatever that means.
First, his actions at Dar Es Salaam, when he walked out of Communion with the Episcopal Church's Presiding Bishop, say a different thing: that he thinks homosexuality is a sin. I'd suggest to him that he stick with this line of thought, because the "too risky to experiment" tack is not a logical position.
It's not a logical position because LGBT people have lived in relationships and families for some time now in the West. The IRD and their ilk would have you believe that this has led to the destruction of the institution of marriage, but as I previously pointed out, the institution of marriage is a lot tougher than they think. The nature of relationships has changed. But people still get married and they give it their best shot, and if marriage is in trouble, you can't blame that on gay people. LGBT people have also adopted kids, or had their own through artificial insemination. All the reliable psychological research has shown that if the parents are well-adjusted, so are the kids.
In many ways, LGBT people are developing their own variations on relationships. That is experimentation, true. But the fact that they have relationships is not experientation. John Chew asks, if Eltoh John can wed David Furnish, imagine the impact on his fans. Well, are his fans going it at like rabbits with people of the same sex? I hope his imagination isn't that lurid.
Chew, by the way, hasn't responded to my letter upbraiding him for walking out of Communion and quoting the Bible sloppily to justify himself. Not that I expected him to.]
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Hmong-American ex-general charged with attempting to overthrow Laotian government
A Hmong-American ex-general was charged, along with some others, of buying $9.8 million worth of weapons in order to overthrow the Hmong government.
I posted this story so that American readers might learn about one of their lesser-known ethnic communities. The Hmong are a Laotian ethnic group that assisted the US during the Vietnam war, at great cost to themselves. They are still persecuted back home. Many refugees have settled in the US in Minnesota, California, and some other Midwestern towns, and I believe there's an enclave in Detroit. Asian-Americans are considered a "model minority," but Asian-Americans are very diverse, and that image doesn't hold true of every ethnic group, or of everyone within the more successful ethnic groups. While they are Asian, the Hmong are not one of the well-off minorities. They weren't rich to begin with, and fleeing a homeland because of persecution tends to have an adverse effect on well-being.
By GARANCE BURKE Associated Press Writer
FRESNO, Calif. Jun 5, 2007 (AP)
Many of the thousands of Hmong refugees who fled to the United States following the Vietnam War never accepted the communist government that took power in their native Laos.
And if federal prosecutors are right, some apparently never abandoned their dream of toppling it.
A revered leader of the Hmong-American population was among 10 men charged this week with plotting to overthrow the Laotian regime in a case that has shaken the growing immigrant community.
Many Hmong credit Vang Pao, a former general in the Royal Army of Laos who led Hmong counterinsurgents, with helping them build new lives in the U.S. In California and Minnesota, where the first large wave of refugees settled in the 1980s, Hmong-American politicians are rising quickly through political ranks.
Despite that momentum, some in the community say elders still long to return to their highland villages.
"People of my father's generation have hoped one day that they could go back to a free Laos and farm the plot of land they left 30 years ago," said state Rep. Cy Thao, of St. Paul, Minn. "Vang Pao is sort of their last hope. You hear them talk about it, but you don't ever think it will come to this point."
An undercover agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives secretly recorded a Feb. 7 luncheon meeting with Vang Pao, former California National Guard Lt. Col. Harrison Ulrich Jack and others at a Thai restaurant a few blocks from the state Capitol in Sacramento, according to the agent's affidavit. They then walked to a recreational vehicle parked nearby to examine machine guns, grenade launchers, anti-tank rockets, anti-personnel mines and other weapons, the agent wrote.
Hmong leaders had agreed to buy $9.8 million worth of military weapons, Jack said in a recorded conversation, with much of the money coming from immigrants throughout the United States, the affidavit states.
Vang Pao appeared briefly in federal court Tuesday in Sacramento.
"General Vang Pao has worked actively to pursue peaceful solutions to the problems in Laos and has disavowed violence," his attorney, John Balazs, said afterward. "We look forward to a trial where we can demonstrate General Pao's innocence."
An attorney for Jack declined comment after a court proceeding Monday.
Vang Pao and the other nine defendants were scheduled for detention hearings later this week. Prosecutors recommended that all be held without bail until their trials.
"People don't know right now whether the charges are justified or a witch hunt. We just want people to remember that for 20 years the Hmong community has worked to make sure that this is our home," said Peter Vang, refugee community liaison for Fresno County, home to about 30,000 ethnic Hmong.
After fighting as U.S.-backed guerillas in Laos, members of the ethnic minority were all but abandoned when the country fell to communist forces in 1975. More than 300,000 Laotian refugees, mostly Hmong, fled into Thailand.
About 145,000 members of Laotian ethnic groups resettled in the U.S., establishing large enclaves in Fresno, St. Paul, Minn., cities across Wisconsin and in small towns throughout Arkansas' Ozark mountains.
Among those charged Monday were the founder of Fresno's annual Hmong International New Year celebration, a former police officer from the nearby suburb of Clovis and a former aide to a Wisconsin state senator.
Federal prosecutors said the men conspired with a Laotian liberation movement, led in the U.S. by Vang Pao, who splits his time between homes in the Twin Cities which has the largest concentration of Hmong in the United States and Southern California. The group raised money, directed surveillance operations and organized a force of insurgent troops within Laos, according to the complaint.
Somphet Khoukahoun, the permanent secretary for the Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Tuesday he would wait to comment until authorities were briefed by U.S. officials.
Like many of their counterparts in the U.S., Hmong leaders in Thailand said they found the charges unbelievable.
"I think the charges are meant by rival Hmong in the United States to smear him," said Ming Wui, a Hmong Christian minister.
In Laos, Hmong people are still subject to detentions and human rights violations, according to the U.S. Department of State. Many recent immigrants arrive still traumatized by war and decades of persecution, said Sharon Stanley, director of Fresno Interdenominational Refugee Ministries.
Vang Pao's arrest has crushed families struggling to assume a new, American identity, said Blong Xiong, a Hmong-American city councilman in Fresno, where Hmong grocery stores and restaurants are fixtures in most shopping malls.
"I'm hoping that the mainstream understands that our community continues to share the American ideals we defended," Xiong said.
Associated Press writers Sutin Wannabovorn and Ambika Ahuja in Bangkok, Don Thompson in Sacramento and Gregg Aamot in Minneapolis contributed to this report.
So, many Hmong question whether the charges are true. Somehow, I think they're going to be disappointed. However, this does raise two questions. Vang Pao's alleged purchase of firearms (and we're talking machine guns and assault rifles, not handguns) would be illegal. But if he's going to overthrow an oppressive regime, wouldn't that be potentially acceptable under just war theory?
More importantly, even if he is guilty, was arresting him the right thing to do? He was clearly led into a sting. These guys did have to flee their homeland for fear of persecution. Even if he is guilty (he probably is), I don't think imprisoning him is the right thing to do, either.
Incidentally, there are cases where Southeast Asian kids, often children of refugees, who have grown up here but are not citizens (ie, parents weren't citizens and the kids were born abroad) are arrested for geniune crimes, and after their jail terms are deported. They grew up in the US, not in, say, Laos or Cambodia. They don't know the language. As I said, refugee status is a major psychosocial and financial stressor, and many of these kids would be fine if they weren't born to refugees. Deporting them for their crimes isn't exactly the just thing to do, either.
I posted this story so that American readers might learn about one of their lesser-known ethnic communities. The Hmong are a Laotian ethnic group that assisted the US during the Vietnam war, at great cost to themselves. They are still persecuted back home. Many refugees have settled in the US in Minnesota, California, and some other Midwestern towns, and I believe there's an enclave in Detroit. Asian-Americans are considered a "model minority," but Asian-Americans are very diverse, and that image doesn't hold true of every ethnic group, or of everyone within the more successful ethnic groups. While they are Asian, the Hmong are not one of the well-off minorities. They weren't rich to begin with, and fleeing a homeland because of persecution tends to have an adverse effect on well-being.
By GARANCE BURKE Associated Press Writer
FRESNO, Calif. Jun 5, 2007 (AP)
Many of the thousands of Hmong refugees who fled to the United States following the Vietnam War never accepted the communist government that took power in their native Laos.
And if federal prosecutors are right, some apparently never abandoned their dream of toppling it.
A revered leader of the Hmong-American population was among 10 men charged this week with plotting to overthrow the Laotian regime in a case that has shaken the growing immigrant community.
Many Hmong credit Vang Pao, a former general in the Royal Army of Laos who led Hmong counterinsurgents, with helping them build new lives in the U.S. In California and Minnesota, where the first large wave of refugees settled in the 1980s, Hmong-American politicians are rising quickly through political ranks.
Despite that momentum, some in the community say elders still long to return to their highland villages.
"People of my father's generation have hoped one day that they could go back to a free Laos and farm the plot of land they left 30 years ago," said state Rep. Cy Thao, of St. Paul, Minn. "Vang Pao is sort of their last hope. You hear them talk about it, but you don't ever think it will come to this point."
An undercover agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives secretly recorded a Feb. 7 luncheon meeting with Vang Pao, former California National Guard Lt. Col. Harrison Ulrich Jack and others at a Thai restaurant a few blocks from the state Capitol in Sacramento, according to the agent's affidavit. They then walked to a recreational vehicle parked nearby to examine machine guns, grenade launchers, anti-tank rockets, anti-personnel mines and other weapons, the agent wrote.
Hmong leaders had agreed to buy $9.8 million worth of military weapons, Jack said in a recorded conversation, with much of the money coming from immigrants throughout the United States, the affidavit states.
Vang Pao appeared briefly in federal court Tuesday in Sacramento.
"General Vang Pao has worked actively to pursue peaceful solutions to the problems in Laos and has disavowed violence," his attorney, John Balazs, said afterward. "We look forward to a trial where we can demonstrate General Pao's innocence."
An attorney for Jack declined comment after a court proceeding Monday.
Vang Pao and the other nine defendants were scheduled for detention hearings later this week. Prosecutors recommended that all be held without bail until their trials.
"People don't know right now whether the charges are justified or a witch hunt. We just want people to remember that for 20 years the Hmong community has worked to make sure that this is our home," said Peter Vang, refugee community liaison for Fresno County, home to about 30,000 ethnic Hmong.
After fighting as U.S.-backed guerillas in Laos, members of the ethnic minority were all but abandoned when the country fell to communist forces in 1975. More than 300,000 Laotian refugees, mostly Hmong, fled into Thailand.
About 145,000 members of Laotian ethnic groups resettled in the U.S., establishing large enclaves in Fresno, St. Paul, Minn., cities across Wisconsin and in small towns throughout Arkansas' Ozark mountains.
Among those charged Monday were the founder of Fresno's annual Hmong International New Year celebration, a former police officer from the nearby suburb of Clovis and a former aide to a Wisconsin state senator.
Federal prosecutors said the men conspired with a Laotian liberation movement, led in the U.S. by Vang Pao, who splits his time between homes in the Twin Cities which has the largest concentration of Hmong in the United States and Southern California. The group raised money, directed surveillance operations and organized a force of insurgent troops within Laos, according to the complaint.
Somphet Khoukahoun, the permanent secretary for the Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Tuesday he would wait to comment until authorities were briefed by U.S. officials.
Like many of their counterparts in the U.S., Hmong leaders in Thailand said they found the charges unbelievable.
"I think the charges are meant by rival Hmong in the United States to smear him," said Ming Wui, a Hmong Christian minister.
In Laos, Hmong people are still subject to detentions and human rights violations, according to the U.S. Department of State. Many recent immigrants arrive still traumatized by war and decades of persecution, said Sharon Stanley, director of Fresno Interdenominational Refugee Ministries.
Vang Pao's arrest has crushed families struggling to assume a new, American identity, said Blong Xiong, a Hmong-American city councilman in Fresno, where Hmong grocery stores and restaurants are fixtures in most shopping malls.
"I'm hoping that the mainstream understands that our community continues to share the American ideals we defended," Xiong said.
Associated Press writers Sutin Wannabovorn and Ambika Ahuja in Bangkok, Don Thompson in Sacramento and Gregg Aamot in Minneapolis contributed to this report.
So, many Hmong question whether the charges are true. Somehow, I think they're going to be disappointed. However, this does raise two questions. Vang Pao's alleged purchase of firearms (and we're talking machine guns and assault rifles, not handguns) would be illegal. But if he's going to overthrow an oppressive regime, wouldn't that be potentially acceptable under just war theory?
More importantly, even if he is guilty, was arresting him the right thing to do? He was clearly led into a sting. These guys did have to flee their homeland for fear of persecution. Even if he is guilty (he probably is), I don't think imprisoning him is the right thing to do, either.
Incidentally, there are cases where Southeast Asian kids, often children of refugees, who have grown up here but are not citizens (ie, parents weren't citizens and the kids were born abroad) are arrested for geniune crimes, and after their jail terms are deported. They grew up in the US, not in, say, Laos or Cambodia. They don't know the language. As I said, refugee status is a major psychosocial and financial stressor, and many of these kids would be fine if they weren't born to refugees. Deporting them for their crimes isn't exactly the just thing to do, either.
Friday, May 25, 2007
Pray for Aung San Suu Kyi
Aung San Suu Kyi's house arrest by the Burmese military junta has been extended. She has already been detained for years. Please pray for her and for her country.
Burma's military leaders have extended their detention of Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi for another year, despite growing international pressure. Government sources say Burmese officials visited her residence Friday and read out the extension of her term. Ron Corben reports from Bangkok.
For weeks, there have been renewed international calls for the release of Burma opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The calls came from fellow Nobel Prize laureates, past and current world leaders, and human rights groups. The U.S. government has said that she should be freed and Burma should implement political reforms quickly.
The head of the National League for Democracy has been detained continuously since May 2003, when she was taken into custody after a pro-government mob attacked her supporters while she was visiting rural Burma. She has spent 11 of the past 17 years in confinement.
Debbie Stothardt, spokeswoman for the rights group the Alternative ASEAN Network, says the government fears releasing Aung San Suu Kyi could lead to unrest from her many supporters, and from rising public anger over the country's economic problems.
"The regime is definitely not releasing Aung San Suu Kyi. But it's not because of international pressure, it's because of their own fear of what could happen if Aung San Suu Kyi is released and there's a national uprising against them," said Stothardt.
Naing Aung, a former Burmese student leader and democracy rights advocate, says the government will detain Aung San Suu Kyi until a new constitution - now being drafted - is completed.
"The military regime doesn't want to have any dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi and they don't think that they need to talk to solve their problems together," he said.
Politicians from the Association of South East Asian Nations have demanded that regional governments push Burma to free more than 1,100 political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi.
Kraisak Choonhavan, a former Thai senator and rights advocate, says the ASEAN politicians have worked hard at raising the issue.
"We have been very diligent in persevering for the release of all political prisoners in Burma, and our agenda has been very, very consistent with our principles, but this extension of the detention of Aung San Suu Kyi is absolutely unacceptable, absolutely unacceptable," he said.
Stothardt of the Alternative ASEAN Network says rights groups will continue to work for change in Burma.
"We need an increase in domestic and international pressure on this regime so finally they have no choice but they have to release Aung San Suu Kyi and they have no choice but to democratize," said Stothardt.
The country has been under a military government since 1962. The National League for Democracy won a landside victory in elections in 1990, but the military refused to acknowledge the results. The government has promised general elections after a new constitution is drafted, but there is no indication of when that will be.
Burma's military leaders have extended their detention of Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi for another year, despite growing international pressure. Government sources say Burmese officials visited her residence Friday and read out the extension of her term. Ron Corben reports from Bangkok.
For weeks, there have been renewed international calls for the release of Burma opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The calls came from fellow Nobel Prize laureates, past and current world leaders, and human rights groups. The U.S. government has said that she should be freed and Burma should implement political reforms quickly.
The head of the National League for Democracy has been detained continuously since May 2003, when she was taken into custody after a pro-government mob attacked her supporters while she was visiting rural Burma. She has spent 11 of the past 17 years in confinement.
Debbie Stothardt, spokeswoman for the rights group the Alternative ASEAN Network, says the government fears releasing Aung San Suu Kyi could lead to unrest from her many supporters, and from rising public anger over the country's economic problems.
"The regime is definitely not releasing Aung San Suu Kyi. But it's not because of international pressure, it's because of their own fear of what could happen if Aung San Suu Kyi is released and there's a national uprising against them," said Stothardt.
Naing Aung, a former Burmese student leader and democracy rights advocate, says the government will detain Aung San Suu Kyi until a new constitution - now being drafted - is completed.
"The military regime doesn't want to have any dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi and they don't think that they need to talk to solve their problems together," he said.
Politicians from the Association of South East Asian Nations have demanded that regional governments push Burma to free more than 1,100 political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi.
Kraisak Choonhavan, a former Thai senator and rights advocate, says the ASEAN politicians have worked hard at raising the issue.
"We have been very diligent in persevering for the release of all political prisoners in Burma, and our agenda has been very, very consistent with our principles, but this extension of the detention of Aung San Suu Kyi is absolutely unacceptable, absolutely unacceptable," he said.
Stothardt of the Alternative ASEAN Network says rights groups will continue to work for change in Burma.
"We need an increase in domestic and international pressure on this regime so finally they have no choice but they have to release Aung San Suu Kyi and they have no choice but to democratize," said Stothardt.
The country has been under a military government since 1962. The National League for Democracy won a landside victory in elections in 1990, but the military refused to acknowledge the results. The government has promised general elections after a new constitution is drafted, but there is no indication of when that will be.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Revolution by stages - gays in Asia
I came to this article by way of Louie Crew's blog. It focuses on gays in Asia, and overall, I the picture is much better than in Africa. That said, I know of one Indonesian Chinese gay man who's sought asylum in the US on grounds of persecution, so it's not all good. And certainly, political organization is hard or impossible in some countries, like Singapore.
For some reason, the article focuses on gay men. Were they more willing to speak than Asian lesbians? What about bisexual people in Asia? Transgender in the form of cross-dressing is not alien to us (the article mentions Bugis Street in Singapore, an old "transvestite" haunt - that's the outdated term). And in fact, I've heard of Thailand having a number of clinics where one can get gender reassignment surgery. However, the article doesn't mention what life's like for trans people. Nonetheless, it's a nice snapshot.
http://www.pathfinder.com/asiaweek/98/0807/cs1.html
The blooms in the orchid pavilion next to Rizal Park were at their best - but were still no match for the guests. Ricky Reyes, charity fundraiser and gay businessman, had issued the invitation: P-A-R-T-Y! And Manila's homosexuals were doing just that - in sequins, boas and just every kind of cross-dressing finery imaginable. The bash - from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. in a garden set up by former First Lady Amelita Ramos - was proof once more of the vibrancy of the Philippine homosexual community. Says publicist and outspoken gay personality Louie Cruz: "We are a beacon for gay freedom in Asia."
Hyperbole perhaps. Still, homosexual Filipinos participate in public life with a verve unmatched anywhere in the region. Party host Reyes, owner of a chain of beauty parlors, is almost a fixture in Amelita Ramos's social circle, partly because of his involvement in community projects. So is gay clothes designer Inno Sotto, who has helped Ramos raise millions through fashion extravaganzas. Manila's homosexuals are not just out of the closet. They are in the street, on TV and in the media. They hold flamboyant gay pride marches, and the Santo Niño Club, a largely homosexual association of fashion types, stages an annual religious parade featuring a statue of the child Jesus in designer robes.
But that's the Philippines. Just about everywhere else in Asia, the underlying truth about gay life is that there is safety only in numbers. From Tokyo to Jakarta, homosexuals mostly lead a Jekyll and Hyde existence. They may frequent bars and clubs where they know they will meet their own kind - but are reluctant to declare their sexual preference to work colleagues, friends or family. Persecution has been largely banished, but ostracism has not. The result: If it is true that one person in 10 is gay, then maybe 315 million Asians are trapped in a lie.
In Thailand, though, the social climate is relaxed enough for developer Dejdeow Srichai to have attempted in 1994 to set up a housing project exclusively for gay men. His Flower Town scheme, in northeastern Nakhon Ratchasima province, failed because it didn't attract enough takers. But he was recently considering something similar for Kanchanaburi, west of Bangkok. Homosexual hangouts have mushroomed in the Thai capital. The range runs from the gay equivalent of go-go bars (with male dancers) to saunas and more discreet establishments such as the Albury Club, which caters strictly to the moneyed class. Gay writer Natayada na Songkhla attributes this freedom to Thais' disinclination "to stick their noses into other people's business."
Even in politically conservative countries such as China and Malaysia, there is little overt anti-gay hostility. Homosexuals say they do not fear being picked on by roughnecks in the way they are in the West. Their explanation: the traditional tolerance found in many Asian cultures. "There is no confrontation, no fag-bashing. We can dance together even in straight discos," says a Malay actor who, as if to belie his own words, asked that his name not be used.
Hong Kong academic Chou Wah-shan suggests homophobia is a by-product of Western cultural expansion. Same-sex eroticism was prevalent throughout Chinese history, he says. This was mirrored in literature such as the classic novel Dream of the Red Chamber, which deals openly with homosexual love. Class and gender were more important than sexual identity in Chinese society, says Chou.
Still, a low level of violence is no indicator of social acceptance - as Julian Chan, a Hong Kong insurance underwriter, knows. Chan, 36, was a prominent member of a Buddhist organization until officials learned he was a gay activist. They told him to choose between them and his campaign work. He chose activism. "They were so hypocritical," he says. Not that the Christian Church is always more understanding. Says Chan: "When a friend of mine told his Church he was gay, they reacted as if he was possessed by Satan. They prayed for him day and night until he couldn't stand it any more and quit." Wan Yanhai, a medical researcher in Beijing, had a similar experience. He was forced to resign his job at a government health institution in 1994 because of his gay activism. Wan now works for a private company, but continues to spend his spare time on homosexual issues. Such cases, though perhaps isolated, are part of the force that keeps Asian homosexuals firmly in the closet.
Is the stigma associated with gayness imported from the West? After all, homosexual contact is outlawed in India, Malaysia and Singapore - all under prohibitions against "acts against nature" inherited from British rule. If so, Asia may have absorbed those values too well. In 1996, then Thai education minister Sukhavich Rangsitpol called for a "special center" for homosexuals, whom he described as "sick, both physically and mentally." In China, psychiatrists classify homosexuality as a disease for which electric shock therapy may be prescribed.
Oases of tolerance aside, what emerges from gay communities across Asia are tales of loneliness and insecurity. Yoshiko, a 45-year-old Japanese nurse, is typical of many. She believes discovery of her "secret" will mean being "shunned for the rest of my life" - even by her best friend. Her double life is taking a toll: she has been drinking heavily for the past 20 years.
In most countries, lesbians have been much less assertive than gay men, almost invisible. Anjana Suvarnananda, who runs Anjaree, a Thai lesbian support group, perhaps reflects a common attitude. She says: "We don't want to come out." There is no need, she says, "because you can do whatever you want" - only in secret. Like men, many homosexual women feel compelled by convention to marry. Those who then defy the rules and leave their husbands are often highly traumatized, says Jeya, an Indian lesbian.
Delhi computer engineer Owais Khan thought his attraction to boys was just a passing phase. When a visit to a prostitute left him cold, he managed to convince himself that "most men cannot engage in sex at first contact." But when his family arranged a marriage for him, he was forced to face his sexuality. The marriage lasted just seven months. "It was a painful experience for both of us, probably more for my wife," he says. Khan's wealthy Muslim family cut him off as soon as he told them he was gay. "Most of my relatives don't talk to me now," he says. "My mother says I will go to hell, as Islam forbids the practice."
In China, where the Communist Party has begun easing its control over private lives, young gays are finding it easier to be open about their sexual feelings - though most still fear being found out by their families. And those homosexuals scarred by the orthodoxy-driven persecution of the Cultural Revolution will probably take their secret to their graves. Even in Hong Kong, campaigners found few sympathizers when they attempted in the 1980s to promote a bill to decriminalize homosexuality. But they persisted, and in 1991 Hong Kong became the only place in Asia to legalize homosexual acts - in private - between consenting adults.
That legislation changed the nature of homosexual life in the territory. Where once there was just one gay club - the unglamorous and frequently raided Disco Disco - there are now gay-oriented bars, cafes, magazines and bookshops. Gay "lonely heart" announcements fill pages of a local English-language magazine. And one astute finance company has opened a department that specializes in homosexual clients.
Taiwan may have concertinaed a generation's political development into a fraction of that time, but social changes have come only slowly. "In most professions, [homosexuality] is the kiss of death," says Hsiao Yu, an activist at National Taiwan University. This is why Taipei gays and lesbians wore masks when they staged a demonstration June 29 to mark International Gay Pride day. Julian Jayaseelan, of the Malaysian AIDS-awareness group Pink Triangle, knows of several instances where employees were fired for being gay. A lawyer reports being told before being dismissed: "We're a very traditional company, with very traditional clients." In Singapore, stories abound - without proof - of senior government officials and prominent professionals whose careers have been derailed when their sexual orientation became known.
An individual's sexual tastes may be widely rumored - even tacitly accepted as in the case of two former premiers in Thailand - but artifice prevails. In polite company, the preferred term for a male homosexual is "confirmed bachelor." This saves face all round. But even coming out has its limits. Says Thai writer Natayada: "I cannot get married. I am not allowed to have children. I won't be considered for certain jobs. Where others may refer to their wives, I cannot talk about my long-term boyfriend."
Douglas Chew, 36, a leading Malaysian fashion designer, came out 15 years ago. "I decided I was an adult and it was my responsibility, my judgment," he says. "I don't think I owe the world an apology." Chew recently ended a three-year relationship. "We would go out to clubs and dance together. But holding hands is not something I'd do in public now - in my more militant days, maybe. My attitude is that I don't care whether I'm accepted or not. A lot of gays try too hard to conform and be accepted by 'normal' society."
Sometimes a relaxed official attitude can be found in what might appear to be the least expected places. Ben, a Chinese Singaporean waiter, says he was asked if he was gay while undergoing medical tests for national service in 1992. "When I said yes, they simply asked if I would be having a sex-change operation." Instead of being rejected, as he thinks would have happened a decade before, Ben was assigned a desk job. There was no hassle from the officers. "Some people made fun of me, but my squad stood by me."
Singapore - the heart of the Asian gay movement? It is not an image that springs easily to mind. But, government-mandated morality and Draconian laws aside, there is a thriving scene in the Lion City. A downtown shopping mall, conveniently attached to two major hotels, is one of the prime "cruising" spots, and it doesn't take a very practiced eye to figure out who's available.
Bugis Street, the raunchy old transvestite haunt, has been cleaned up for tourists, but other watering holes have opened to cater to a hip, gay clientele - either exclusively or on specific nights. One nightclub sets aside Wednesdays and Saturdays for men. Another caters to men most nights except Wednesday, when it is for women. The worldly Chew says he is astonished how aggressive Singaporean homosexuals are. "I have never been so accosted as in Singapore. Once, I was walking down Orchard Road. When I got back to my hotel room, I found a sticker on the back of my T-shirt. It read, 'If you are gay and want to know what I look like, call me.' Of course, I didn't!"
Traditionally, Asian gays have been poorly organized and easy targets for restrictive legislation. OCCUR, a Japanese group set up in 1986, was among the first to strike back. The 35,000-member body challenged a decision by the Tokyo Metropolitan government to deny homosexuals access to youth hostels. Last November, OCCUR claimed victory after six years of litigation. Says lawyer Nakagawa Shigenori: "What happened shows that the rights of minorities need to be addressed."
Ironically, the specter of AIDS, which added to the prejudice against homosexuals, helped spread gay consciousness in the region. When India's AIDS Bhedbhav Virodhi Andolan, a group promoting safe sex, sought to distribute condoms to male prisoners at Delhi's Tihar jail two years ago, the authorities refused permission. "Homosexuality is illegal, so how can it take place in prisons?" was the response. The activists are now seeking a change in the penal code.
Thai homosexuals are increasingly prepared to assert themselves as full members of the community, rather than as a tolerated fringe. In 1996, when the Rajabhat Institute banned gays from receiving teacher training in its 36 vocational colleges across the country, they launched a campaign that attracted the support of international pressure groups. Rajabhat was forced to back down.
Natee Teerarojjanapong operates Thailand's White Line AIDS-awareness group, where he has spent a decade trying to ease gays into the mainstream of society. His "safe sex" campaigns have helped both gays and straights. But his work has been tough going, particularly when dealing with resistance from the sex industry. He acknowledges that some of his earlier enthusiasm has waned.
Despite setbacks and disappointments, Asia's openly gay community has grown to the point where the "pink dollar" now has clout in the marketplace. Says Malaysia's Chew: "We have no wives or children to support. We travel a lot, dress well, go to the gym. We're usually more worldly than most people, more affluent."
Eddie Pacheco, an out-of-the-closet Manila advertising executive, agrees: "Most businessmen recognize the existence of the pink market. They know they can't afford to ignore gays. They cater to them, come out with products that appeal to them. They are important." And that, for the time being at least, is the real measure of gay power in Asia.
-- With reports by Julian Gearing/Bangkok, Paul Mooney/Beijing, Arjuna Ranawana/Delhi, Law Siu-lan/Hong Kong, Wilhelmina Paras/Manila, Santha Oorjitham/Kuala Lumpur, Andrea Hamilton/Singapore, Laurence Eyton/Taipei and Suvendrini Kakuchi/Tokyo
For some reason, the article focuses on gay men. Were they more willing to speak than Asian lesbians? What about bisexual people in Asia? Transgender in the form of cross-dressing is not alien to us (the article mentions Bugis Street in Singapore, an old "transvestite" haunt - that's the outdated term). And in fact, I've heard of Thailand having a number of clinics where one can get gender reassignment surgery. However, the article doesn't mention what life's like for trans people. Nonetheless, it's a nice snapshot.
http://www.pathfinder.com/asiaweek/98/0807/cs1.html
The blooms in the orchid pavilion next to Rizal Park were at their best - but were still no match for the guests. Ricky Reyes, charity fundraiser and gay businessman, had issued the invitation: P-A-R-T-Y! And Manila's homosexuals were doing just that - in sequins, boas and just every kind of cross-dressing finery imaginable. The bash - from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. in a garden set up by former First Lady Amelita Ramos - was proof once more of the vibrancy of the Philippine homosexual community. Says publicist and outspoken gay personality Louie Cruz: "We are a beacon for gay freedom in Asia."
Hyperbole perhaps. Still, homosexual Filipinos participate in public life with a verve unmatched anywhere in the region. Party host Reyes, owner of a chain of beauty parlors, is almost a fixture in Amelita Ramos's social circle, partly because of his involvement in community projects. So is gay clothes designer Inno Sotto, who has helped Ramos raise millions through fashion extravaganzas. Manila's homosexuals are not just out of the closet. They are in the street, on TV and in the media. They hold flamboyant gay pride marches, and the Santo Niño Club, a largely homosexual association of fashion types, stages an annual religious parade featuring a statue of the child Jesus in designer robes.
But that's the Philippines. Just about everywhere else in Asia, the underlying truth about gay life is that there is safety only in numbers. From Tokyo to Jakarta, homosexuals mostly lead a Jekyll and Hyde existence. They may frequent bars and clubs where they know they will meet their own kind - but are reluctant to declare their sexual preference to work colleagues, friends or family. Persecution has been largely banished, but ostracism has not. The result: If it is true that one person in 10 is gay, then maybe 315 million Asians are trapped in a lie.
In Thailand, though, the social climate is relaxed enough for developer Dejdeow Srichai to have attempted in 1994 to set up a housing project exclusively for gay men. His Flower Town scheme, in northeastern Nakhon Ratchasima province, failed because it didn't attract enough takers. But he was recently considering something similar for Kanchanaburi, west of Bangkok. Homosexual hangouts have mushroomed in the Thai capital. The range runs from the gay equivalent of go-go bars (with male dancers) to saunas and more discreet establishments such as the Albury Club, which caters strictly to the moneyed class. Gay writer Natayada na Songkhla attributes this freedom to Thais' disinclination "to stick their noses into other people's business."
Even in politically conservative countries such as China and Malaysia, there is little overt anti-gay hostility. Homosexuals say they do not fear being picked on by roughnecks in the way they are in the West. Their explanation: the traditional tolerance found in many Asian cultures. "There is no confrontation, no fag-bashing. We can dance together even in straight discos," says a Malay actor who, as if to belie his own words, asked that his name not be used.
Hong Kong academic Chou Wah-shan suggests homophobia is a by-product of Western cultural expansion. Same-sex eroticism was prevalent throughout Chinese history, he says. This was mirrored in literature such as the classic novel Dream of the Red Chamber, which deals openly with homosexual love. Class and gender were more important than sexual identity in Chinese society, says Chou.
Still, a low level of violence is no indicator of social acceptance - as Julian Chan, a Hong Kong insurance underwriter, knows. Chan, 36, was a prominent member of a Buddhist organization until officials learned he was a gay activist. They told him to choose between them and his campaign work. He chose activism. "They were so hypocritical," he says. Not that the Christian Church is always more understanding. Says Chan: "When a friend of mine told his Church he was gay, they reacted as if he was possessed by Satan. They prayed for him day and night until he couldn't stand it any more and quit." Wan Yanhai, a medical researcher in Beijing, had a similar experience. He was forced to resign his job at a government health institution in 1994 because of his gay activism. Wan now works for a private company, but continues to spend his spare time on homosexual issues. Such cases, though perhaps isolated, are part of the force that keeps Asian homosexuals firmly in the closet.
Is the stigma associated with gayness imported from the West? After all, homosexual contact is outlawed in India, Malaysia and Singapore - all under prohibitions against "acts against nature" inherited from British rule. If so, Asia may have absorbed those values too well. In 1996, then Thai education minister Sukhavich Rangsitpol called for a "special center" for homosexuals, whom he described as "sick, both physically and mentally." In China, psychiatrists classify homosexuality as a disease for which electric shock therapy may be prescribed.
Oases of tolerance aside, what emerges from gay communities across Asia are tales of loneliness and insecurity. Yoshiko, a 45-year-old Japanese nurse, is typical of many. She believes discovery of her "secret" will mean being "shunned for the rest of my life" - even by her best friend. Her double life is taking a toll: she has been drinking heavily for the past 20 years.
In most countries, lesbians have been much less assertive than gay men, almost invisible. Anjana Suvarnananda, who runs Anjaree, a Thai lesbian support group, perhaps reflects a common attitude. She says: "We don't want to come out." There is no need, she says, "because you can do whatever you want" - only in secret. Like men, many homosexual women feel compelled by convention to marry. Those who then defy the rules and leave their husbands are often highly traumatized, says Jeya, an Indian lesbian.
Delhi computer engineer Owais Khan thought his attraction to boys was just a passing phase. When a visit to a prostitute left him cold, he managed to convince himself that "most men cannot engage in sex at first contact." But when his family arranged a marriage for him, he was forced to face his sexuality. The marriage lasted just seven months. "It was a painful experience for both of us, probably more for my wife," he says. Khan's wealthy Muslim family cut him off as soon as he told them he was gay. "Most of my relatives don't talk to me now," he says. "My mother says I will go to hell, as Islam forbids the practice."
In China, where the Communist Party has begun easing its control over private lives, young gays are finding it easier to be open about their sexual feelings - though most still fear being found out by their families. And those homosexuals scarred by the orthodoxy-driven persecution of the Cultural Revolution will probably take their secret to their graves. Even in Hong Kong, campaigners found few sympathizers when they attempted in the 1980s to promote a bill to decriminalize homosexuality. But they persisted, and in 1991 Hong Kong became the only place in Asia to legalize homosexual acts - in private - between consenting adults.
That legislation changed the nature of homosexual life in the territory. Where once there was just one gay club - the unglamorous and frequently raided Disco Disco - there are now gay-oriented bars, cafes, magazines and bookshops. Gay "lonely heart" announcements fill pages of a local English-language magazine. And one astute finance company has opened a department that specializes in homosexual clients.
Taiwan may have concertinaed a generation's political development into a fraction of that time, but social changes have come only slowly. "In most professions, [homosexuality] is the kiss of death," says Hsiao Yu, an activist at National Taiwan University. This is why Taipei gays and lesbians wore masks when they staged a demonstration June 29 to mark International Gay Pride day. Julian Jayaseelan, of the Malaysian AIDS-awareness group Pink Triangle, knows of several instances where employees were fired for being gay. A lawyer reports being told before being dismissed: "We're a very traditional company, with very traditional clients." In Singapore, stories abound - without proof - of senior government officials and prominent professionals whose careers have been derailed when their sexual orientation became known.
An individual's sexual tastes may be widely rumored - even tacitly accepted as in the case of two former premiers in Thailand - but artifice prevails. In polite company, the preferred term for a male homosexual is "confirmed bachelor." This saves face all round. But even coming out has its limits. Says Thai writer Natayada: "I cannot get married. I am not allowed to have children. I won't be considered for certain jobs. Where others may refer to their wives, I cannot talk about my long-term boyfriend."
Douglas Chew, 36, a leading Malaysian fashion designer, came out 15 years ago. "I decided I was an adult and it was my responsibility, my judgment," he says. "I don't think I owe the world an apology." Chew recently ended a three-year relationship. "We would go out to clubs and dance together. But holding hands is not something I'd do in public now - in my more militant days, maybe. My attitude is that I don't care whether I'm accepted or not. A lot of gays try too hard to conform and be accepted by 'normal' society."
Sometimes a relaxed official attitude can be found in what might appear to be the least expected places. Ben, a Chinese Singaporean waiter, says he was asked if he was gay while undergoing medical tests for national service in 1992. "When I said yes, they simply asked if I would be having a sex-change operation." Instead of being rejected, as he thinks would have happened a decade before, Ben was assigned a desk job. There was no hassle from the officers. "Some people made fun of me, but my squad stood by me."
Singapore - the heart of the Asian gay movement? It is not an image that springs easily to mind. But, government-mandated morality and Draconian laws aside, there is a thriving scene in the Lion City. A downtown shopping mall, conveniently attached to two major hotels, is one of the prime "cruising" spots, and it doesn't take a very practiced eye to figure out who's available.
Bugis Street, the raunchy old transvestite haunt, has been cleaned up for tourists, but other watering holes have opened to cater to a hip, gay clientele - either exclusively or on specific nights. One nightclub sets aside Wednesdays and Saturdays for men. Another caters to men most nights except Wednesday, when it is for women. The worldly Chew says he is astonished how aggressive Singaporean homosexuals are. "I have never been so accosted as in Singapore. Once, I was walking down Orchard Road. When I got back to my hotel room, I found a sticker on the back of my T-shirt. It read, 'If you are gay and want to know what I look like, call me.' Of course, I didn't!"
Traditionally, Asian gays have been poorly organized and easy targets for restrictive legislation. OCCUR, a Japanese group set up in 1986, was among the first to strike back. The 35,000-member body challenged a decision by the Tokyo Metropolitan government to deny homosexuals access to youth hostels. Last November, OCCUR claimed victory after six years of litigation. Says lawyer Nakagawa Shigenori: "What happened shows that the rights of minorities need to be addressed."
Ironically, the specter of AIDS, which added to the prejudice against homosexuals, helped spread gay consciousness in the region. When India's AIDS Bhedbhav Virodhi Andolan, a group promoting safe sex, sought to distribute condoms to male prisoners at Delhi's Tihar jail two years ago, the authorities refused permission. "Homosexuality is illegal, so how can it take place in prisons?" was the response. The activists are now seeking a change in the penal code.
Thai homosexuals are increasingly prepared to assert themselves as full members of the community, rather than as a tolerated fringe. In 1996, when the Rajabhat Institute banned gays from receiving teacher training in its 36 vocational colleges across the country, they launched a campaign that attracted the support of international pressure groups. Rajabhat was forced to back down.
Natee Teerarojjanapong operates Thailand's White Line AIDS-awareness group, where he has spent a decade trying to ease gays into the mainstream of society. His "safe sex" campaigns have helped both gays and straights. But his work has been tough going, particularly when dealing with resistance from the sex industry. He acknowledges that some of his earlier enthusiasm has waned.
Despite setbacks and disappointments, Asia's openly gay community has grown to the point where the "pink dollar" now has clout in the marketplace. Says Malaysia's Chew: "We have no wives or children to support. We travel a lot, dress well, go to the gym. We're usually more worldly than most people, more affluent."
Eddie Pacheco, an out-of-the-closet Manila advertising executive, agrees: "Most businessmen recognize the existence of the pink market. They know they can't afford to ignore gays. They cater to them, come out with products that appeal to them. They are important." And that, for the time being at least, is the real measure of gay power in Asia.
-- With reports by Julian Gearing/Bangkok, Paul Mooney/Beijing, Arjuna Ranawana/Delhi, Law Siu-lan/Hong Kong, Wilhelmina Paras/Manila, Santha Oorjitham/Kuala Lumpur, Andrea Hamilton/Singapore, Laurence Eyton/Taipei and Suvendrini Kakuchi/Tokyo
Monday, February 19, 2007
Global South Anglican website: twisting the witness of a martyr shepherd for their political ends
And other political comments on the goings-on in the Anglican Communion
I recently posted a commemoration of Archbishop Janani Luwum of Uganda, murdered on February 17, 1977 (he was last seen alive on Feb 16, and some celebrate him on that day). ++Luwum tried to ameliorate the abuses of Idi Amin's regime, but he ended up having to be martyred, possibly by Amin himself. Jesus said the good shepherd gives us their life for their flock; any reasonable person would agree that Janani Luwum was a good shepherd.
Janani Luwum was Ugandan. Archbishop Orombi, of Uganda, was one of those who walked apart from Communion at the recent Primates' Meeting. I do not know how ++Luwum would have responded to the present political crisis in the Anglican Communion. He might have walked away, and stood with Peter Akinola in his support of violating the human rights of LGBT Africans. He might have said stop this, this is not a doctrine central to our faith, and we have much bigger problems - African Anglican leaders like Archbishops Desmond Tutu and Njongonkulu Ndungane of South Africa and Bishop Mdimi Mhogolo of Central Tanganyika have said as much.
I do not know what he would have done, and I do not care. When I wrote my reflection, I mentioned nothing of our political crisis. ++Luwum's witness had nothing to do with this. It had to do with resistance to oppression, which is a theme of my blog.
The website Global South Anglican (www.globalsouthanglican.org) apparently had no such scruples. One poster wrote, "He would not compromise on Biblical truth and he paid the ultimate price," reminding Anglicans that Feb 16th was a very important day for them in direct reference to the current crisis.
Mark Harris, of the blog Preludium, had this to say: (anglicanfuture.blogspot.com)
"There is no doubt that the Archbishop was convinced and convicted by his faith that that that faith was biblically based. Was that a matter of not compromising on "biblical truth?" Yes of course if what is meant by biblical truth is justice for the poor and the oppressed, care for those in prison, praying with those about to be executed and suffering for that faith and witness."
Once again, ++Luwum's witness to Biblical truth had NOTHING to do with homosexuality. It had everything to do with resistance to oppression. Now, it's likely that he thought that homosexuality was wrong, given his social location. However, we don't know that. Biblical truth is also, as Harris points out, about justice for the oppressed etc. We can make a good case that ++Luwum would have taken the same tack as Desmond Tutu.
I posted a comment on the website criticizing them for using ++Luwum for political purposes. The comment was deleted - I expected no better of them. However, I didn't mention the Desmond Tutu angle.
(Right now, the GS Anglican website is down, and redirects to MSN.com. It is a good insight into the thinking of conservative Global South Anglican leaders, and has Asian and African contributors, so I suppose I hope it comes back soon.)
This particular call for witness among the GS Anglicans could have been because a sub-group, commisioned by the Archbishop of Canterbury, found that the Episcopal Church had mostly met the requirements of the Windsor Report - to apologize for consecrating Gene Robinson, to stop consecrating any other LGBT bishops, and to stop blessing same-sex unions. We passed the first two, they said, but need to work on the last; it is a valid local option in many Dioceses.
Well, the conservatives shouldn't have got so worked up. The Anglican Primates, as a group, have published a statement. They ask us to:
‘make an unequivocal common covenant’ not to authorize blessings of same-sex unions in their diocese or through the General Convention;
‘confirm that … a candidate for episcopal orders living in a same-sex union shall not receive the necessary consent’
(courtesy of Thinking Anglicans)
Liberal groups in the Anglican Communion have protested. On the flip side, ++Katharine Jefferts Schori asks Episcopalians to: (courtesy of Daily Episcopalian, blog.edow.org)
""It is clear that despite the subcommittee report, a number of the Primates were unhappy with General Convention's response, and clarification of that response is among the Primates' requests of the Episcopal Church," Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, one of the Anglican Communion's 38 Primates, said after their meeting's final business session adjourned at 11 p.m. local time.
"There is awareness that these issues are of concern in many Provinces of the Communion, and that the Episcopal Church's charism is to continue to encourage the discussion," said Jefferts Schori, who will offer additional comment after further reflection and her nearly 20-hour journey back to New York."
"Overall, Jefferts Schori said the Primates' Meeting demonstrated "a positive sense of collegiality, especially in the Bible studies and among Provinces where these issues have been robustly discussed. In addition, a number of Provinces are engaged in the Listening Process, and that is positive.""
There will be difficult times ahead for all sides. Conservatives have been recommended not to consider seceding with church property (that's my understanding). On the flip side, TEC will need to respond to these demands, while honoring the faithful witness of our LGBT members. There are people throwing their hands up, saying "screw this, we don't need the Anglican Communion, it's full of shit anyway."
We are in a position where we may have to ask our LGBT members to wait for justice. Martin Luther King Jr reminds us that justice delayed is justice denied. By these words, asking them to wait for justice is a sin. This is especially true because the Church (in the catholic) sense has excluded them or forced them into the closet for so long - and we've seen what happens when people get forced into the closet with Rev Brent Dugan.
It would also be wrong, though to walking apart from the rest of the Anglican Communion without allowing them to engage us, and trying to engage them. That would be acting as if we know what's best for them, and to hell with them if they don't see that.
Now, frankly, this is exacly what I believe. With my words, I have called Global South Anglican leaders idiots and disgraceful. I have said that they don't know crap about interpreting the Bible. This is what I believe. However, this is not how I am going to act. I am going to act as a brother in Christ to them. If you've studied social psychology, you know that beliefs often don't correspond to actions. In fact, sometimes, when people are confronted with a situation, they act in a way that isn't consistent with their previously stated beliefs. And then if asked again, they change their beliefs.
My attitudes towards homosexuality and Biblican interpretation are not up for change. My attitudes towards Global South Anglicans are, and they will (hopefully) be changed by my actions of respectful engagement. This is how I hope my fellow liberal Episcopalians will act. Robert Ihloff and his Diocese's clergy decided not to do this, in response to the immense amount of hurt inflicted on us. My prayer is that other Episcopalians will do differently. The Global South has had hurt inflicted on them, but Jesus heals that hurt. Maybe we can trust in Jesus and start to talk with each other.
And other political comments on the goings-on in the Anglican Communion
I recently posted a commemoration of Archbishop Janani Luwum of Uganda, murdered on February 17, 1977 (he was last seen alive on Feb 16, and some celebrate him on that day). ++Luwum tried to ameliorate the abuses of Idi Amin's regime, but he ended up having to be martyred, possibly by Amin himself. Jesus said the good shepherd gives us their life for their flock; any reasonable person would agree that Janani Luwum was a good shepherd.
Janani Luwum was Ugandan. Archbishop Orombi, of Uganda, was one of those who walked apart from Communion at the recent Primates' Meeting. I do not know how ++Luwum would have responded to the present political crisis in the Anglican Communion. He might have walked away, and stood with Peter Akinola in his support of violating the human rights of LGBT Africans. He might have said stop this, this is not a doctrine central to our faith, and we have much bigger problems - African Anglican leaders like Archbishops Desmond Tutu and Njongonkulu Ndungane of South Africa and Bishop Mdimi Mhogolo of Central Tanganyika have said as much.
I do not know what he would have done, and I do not care. When I wrote my reflection, I mentioned nothing of our political crisis. ++Luwum's witness had nothing to do with this. It had to do with resistance to oppression, which is a theme of my blog.
The website Global South Anglican (www.globalsouthanglican.org) apparently had no such scruples. One poster wrote, "He would not compromise on Biblical truth and he paid the ultimate price," reminding Anglicans that Feb 16th was a very important day for them in direct reference to the current crisis.
Mark Harris, of the blog Preludium, had this to say: (anglicanfuture.blogspot.com)
"There is no doubt that the Archbishop was convinced and convicted by his faith that that that faith was biblically based. Was that a matter of not compromising on "biblical truth?" Yes of course if what is meant by biblical truth is justice for the poor and the oppressed, care for those in prison, praying with those about to be executed and suffering for that faith and witness."
Once again, ++Luwum's witness to Biblical truth had NOTHING to do with homosexuality. It had everything to do with resistance to oppression. Now, it's likely that he thought that homosexuality was wrong, given his social location. However, we don't know that. Biblical truth is also, as Harris points out, about justice for the oppressed etc. We can make a good case that ++Luwum would have taken the same tack as Desmond Tutu.
I posted a comment on the website criticizing them for using ++Luwum for political purposes. The comment was deleted - I expected no better of them. However, I didn't mention the Desmond Tutu angle.
(Right now, the GS Anglican website is down, and redirects to MSN.com. It is a good insight into the thinking of conservative Global South Anglican leaders, and has Asian and African contributors, so I suppose I hope it comes back soon.)
This particular call for witness among the GS Anglicans could have been because a sub-group, commisioned by the Archbishop of Canterbury, found that the Episcopal Church had mostly met the requirements of the Windsor Report - to apologize for consecrating Gene Robinson, to stop consecrating any other LGBT bishops, and to stop blessing same-sex unions. We passed the first two, they said, but need to work on the last; it is a valid local option in many Dioceses.
Well, the conservatives shouldn't have got so worked up. The Anglican Primates, as a group, have published a statement. They ask us to:
‘make an unequivocal common covenant’ not to authorize blessings of same-sex unions in their diocese or through the General Convention;
‘confirm that … a candidate for episcopal orders living in a same-sex union shall not receive the necessary consent’
(courtesy of Thinking Anglicans)
Liberal groups in the Anglican Communion have protested. On the flip side, ++Katharine Jefferts Schori asks Episcopalians to: (courtesy of Daily Episcopalian, blog.edow.org)
""It is clear that despite the subcommittee report, a number of the Primates were unhappy with General Convention's response, and clarification of that response is among the Primates' requests of the Episcopal Church," Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, one of the Anglican Communion's 38 Primates, said after their meeting's final business session adjourned at 11 p.m. local time.
"There is awareness that these issues are of concern in many Provinces of the Communion, and that the Episcopal Church's charism is to continue to encourage the discussion," said Jefferts Schori, who will offer additional comment after further reflection and her nearly 20-hour journey back to New York."
"Overall, Jefferts Schori said the Primates' Meeting demonstrated "a positive sense of collegiality, especially in the Bible studies and among Provinces where these issues have been robustly discussed. In addition, a number of Provinces are engaged in the Listening Process, and that is positive.""
There will be difficult times ahead for all sides. Conservatives have been recommended not to consider seceding with church property (that's my understanding). On the flip side, TEC will need to respond to these demands, while honoring the faithful witness of our LGBT members. There are people throwing their hands up, saying "screw this, we don't need the Anglican Communion, it's full of shit anyway."
We are in a position where we may have to ask our LGBT members to wait for justice. Martin Luther King Jr reminds us that justice delayed is justice denied. By these words, asking them to wait for justice is a sin. This is especially true because the Church (in the catholic) sense has excluded them or forced them into the closet for so long - and we've seen what happens when people get forced into the closet with Rev Brent Dugan.
It would also be wrong, though to walking apart from the rest of the Anglican Communion without allowing them to engage us, and trying to engage them. That would be acting as if we know what's best for them, and to hell with them if they don't see that.
Now, frankly, this is exacly what I believe. With my words, I have called Global South Anglican leaders idiots and disgraceful. I have said that they don't know crap about interpreting the Bible. This is what I believe. However, this is not how I am going to act. I am going to act as a brother in Christ to them. If you've studied social psychology, you know that beliefs often don't correspond to actions. In fact, sometimes, when people are confronted with a situation, they act in a way that isn't consistent with their previously stated beliefs. And then if asked again, they change their beliefs.
My attitudes towards homosexuality and Biblican interpretation are not up for change. My attitudes towards Global South Anglicans are, and they will (hopefully) be changed by my actions of respectful engagement. This is how I hope my fellow liberal Episcopalians will act. Robert Ihloff and his Diocese's clergy decided not to do this, in response to the immense amount of hurt inflicted on us. My prayer is that other Episcopalians will do differently. The Global South has had hurt inflicted on them, but Jesus heals that hurt. Maybe we can trust in Jesus and start to talk with each other.
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